A Beginning at the End
by M14.99
Summary: Ta da! Another AU travel story! But this is about Harry and his friends if events were a little more tragic at Bill and Fleur's wedding. And after it all ended, there was little left to hope for. Or was there? Read and find out! **rights belong to JKR except for my characters and the plot and shoutout to secretaryofsillywalks and kayly silverstorm for my inspiration!**
1. The Ocean Breathes Salty

**I know, I know, another AU story! But this is different, trust me!**

 ** _Chapter One: The Ocean Breathes Salty_**

Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.  
-Euripides

* * *

 **Third person POV**

"Harry," Hermione called out, walking over to the nearly catatonic, dark haired boy. He was sitting in his funeral wear, though for the two friends, siblings in everything but blood, it felt like they never changed out of their black clothing as it was funeral after funeral.

Hermione looked on with only a little anger, as she wished she could sit there unresponsive. She wished she was the one who was allowed to break down, but she had to stay strong, especially when the funeral just now was for Remus and Tonks. She knew, from the look of pain and horror on Harry's face, he was remembering the Unforgivable that he used almost instinctively on Lucius, not just killing the Death Eater, but removing a piece of himself as well. Hermione frowned, before kneeling down beside him.

"Harry."

Neville, noticing the situation, walked over as well, and he shared a look with the girl, unbeknownst to the bespectacled boy on the ground.

"C'mon mate, no one's blaming you," He said firmly. Harry smiled darkly.

"You should. Voldemort wanted me and people died protecting me," Harry said bitterly. "I just want to be by myself for a second." The friends froze, unsure of how to respond to that, but Harry didn't notice, looking at his hands, holding them out as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The teenager, who was barely an adult, couldn't understand how his friends weren't able to see the blood covering his sinful hands. They were shaking, much like how one would shake from the after effects of the Cruciatus curse, a curse he had once used on Bellatrix. It was hard for him to rationalize with himself, that what happened because of him and what he had done wasn't damning. His jaw clenched. Hermione cleared her throat, but it was Luna who spoke.

"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect," She said in her typical dreamlike, singsong-y way. Harry looked at her, eyes blank, but she could see by the tenseness of his shoulders, and the way his hands were furiously ripping the grass from the ground that he was in pain.

"Did you just quote yourself?" Harry asked, chuckling weakly. Luna gave him a reproachful smile.

"Harry, please," Hermione whispered, glancing over at Neville. Harry didn't look away from Luna.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione," Harry whispered, but even with that, Harry still turned away from them, and walked off. Neville reached a hand out, grabbing Harry's wrist, but he shook Neville off.

"No," Harry snapped. "I-I just need to be by myself, okay?" Neville, Luna and Hermione didn't want to see the breakdown that would happen if Harry wasn't allowed this closure, so they nodded, and left him alone. He only wanted some things, well; some people and all the people he wanted were unable to come back.

* * *

"Harry," Hermione said, glancing over at the green eyed boy. Currently, those green eyes were hard and reserved, and Hermione sighed, unable to read what his emotions were. "We don't have to do this. You don't even have to live here." Harry wasn't listening, simply looking up the stairs at the higher levels of 12 Grimmauld place.

"This house belonged to Sirius," Harry said simply, and with one more glance, Hermione nodded.

"Be careful with the Nargles," Luna warned. She had her hands clasped in front of her, and Neville and Hermione exchanged looks. "They're sneaky creatures, but powerful." Hermione smiled at Luna.

"Thanks, Luna, we'll remember that," Hermione promised, and walked over to stand beside Harry. The last 2/3 of the Golden Trio exchanged looks, before ascending the stairs and into the attic. Neville sighed, but followed with Luna by his side, to the surprise of Hermione.

"Someone has to protect against the Nargles," Luna said, when asked why she was coming along. The four young adults walked into the room, and wandered around, looking at all the old objects hidden there.

"Be careful, try not to touch things," Harry warned. "They're dark." But even he didn't really listen to that warning, letting his fingers brush up against many objects, careful not to damage them.

He scoffed. Who was he kidding? He didn't want any of this junk. No dark wizards were living here anymore, so there was no need to keep their stupid dark objects. Picking up a vase in anger, he smashed it to the ground.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked. The others froze, and Hermione turned to look at him. Harry grinned.

"It's actually quite cathartic," Harry laughed, picking something else up and smashing it against the wall.

The others weren't moving but they were no longer tense, and Harry chuckled when he saw a trace of a smile on Hermione's face. She reached over, picking up an ugly glass and threw it across the room, where it hit the wall with a satisfying crash. Neville laughed, chucking an object onto the ground as well.

Pretty soon, they were demolishing everything. Harry was right, it was cathartic, and he laughed hysterically, deciding to laugh amidst the destruction or else he thought he might cry.

So he laughed, even though he knew that probably none of this was healthy, and he should really get some help, but the wizarding world didn't want to imagine that their savior was a little messed up from everything he went through. So Harry was fine with getting his anger, frustration, grief and guilt out in other ways.

Besides, no one was getting hurt.

He smashed an urn, which spilled a bunch of silver powder, just as Hermione blew apart a jar full of some black liquid using confringo, and the flaming liquid mixed with the powder.

Before anyone could react, a thick black fog dispersed across the room at an alarming rate, and no one was able to do anything. He tried to call out, but the thick smoke choked him.

Gagging, he suddenly felt a pull in his navel, like a portkey. He tried to grab onto something, but he found he was unable to move, frozen in pain. He held back screams from the pain, starting in his scar, the one that hadn't hurt since the fall of Voldemort, but now was suddenly shooting pain through his head and his whole body.

Before long, everything went black.


	2. A Million Dead-End Streets

**_Chapter Two: A Million Dead-End Streets_**

Even if we don't have the power to choose where we came from, we can still choose where we go from there  
\- Stephen Chbosky

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry landed with a thud, and he stood up quickly, glancing around him in fear. Where was he?

Last he knew he was in Grimmauld. Regaining composure, he wandered out into the open, unsure of who was around so he was on his guard, senses on high alert.

He nearly snorted at himself, how naïve he was for believing that after defeating Voldemort, he could finally relax, and not be in "constant vigilance" as Moody always told him to be. He had forgotten about the revenge crazed Death Eaters that would want a piece of him. So it was still subconscious for him to attune all his senses, and he figured that since he didn't know where he was, he couldn't let his guard down.

But he looked around and realized he was in muggle London.

He walked into the Leaky Cauldron, picking up a newspaper, before walking back out to muggle London, scanning the paper.

He checked the paper and sighed in relief when he saw that it was still December 1st, 1998. He scanned the paper, searching for any articles on him, on the memorial, of the sycophantic power surge over wizarding Britain, on the numerous Death Eater attacks but found nothing. That was weird. That was all the papers had been talking about for the past months. What else could have happened?

He nearly dropped the paper when a thought popped into his head. Hermione had researched it. She had then gone on a whole speech in excitement about the possibilities and the restrictions of it, and how cool it would be if it had happened to them. Harry had then asked if it was a possibility that it could happen to them, and she told him that only dark magic was able to do it, and there had to be an anchor, whatever that meant. He ignored her after that. But he figured it was possible, as she gave it a code name. Code Blue Box.

A code used in the event that they travelled to another dimension.

Feeling like he could be sick, he rushed into a café, and into the bathroom, sweaty and nervous. Cupping his hands full of water, he rinsed off, sighing painfully as he felt his scar twinge.

No wonder his emotions were roiling.

The dimension hopping left him weak and in pain, and his usual walls were crumbling, forcefully and fast. The months of coping with his obvious PTSD, of shutting it all off to get rid of the bad emotions, were dissolving inside of him, and nothing he could do was stopping the rush of pent up emotions.

He felt the loneliness, the pain, the guilt, like it was fresh and new and exactly how it felt before he pushed it all down and buried it deep. But, like any rumbling volcano, it erupted, and the fear and pain and anger were in full force, like he was reliving it all and he could barely handle it, too weak and too sensitive to fight against the feelings and the memories. Not that they really went away, not after all the death he had seen. Even at 18, he still didn't quite know how to handle the emotions and memories, the fear, the abandonment issues. The loneliness.

It was staggering, the force of these emotions. His wall was disappearing, and without it, he wasn't as good at separating his mind from his emotions, wasn't very good at handling the painful memories, and they were threatening to pull him under, to drown him. He couldn't handle them. He couldn't fight it, couldn't cope. Harry shuddered weakly, fighting back with his feeble defences.

The trip sure didn't seem to have helped his mental state. He felt weak for not being able to handle the pain, but he knew he wasn't weak. It wasn't his fault that his way of handling his unwanted emotions was faulty and fragile. How was he supposed to know that he was going to travel to another universe, losing his way of coping and turning into a blubbering, sensitive mess?

Not that Harry had healthy ways to cope in his world. He blamed it on the fact that he had suffered through things that no other 18 year old had had to suffer through. Alone, at that. And being surrounded by other emotionally stunted 18 year olds didn't count, as they were as alone as him.

Harry squared his shoulders, shivering slightly, but tried to demand control of his mind. He was an adult, goddammit! He didn't _need_ anyone to help him sort through his emotions! And even if he did, who was there to help him? Harry chuckled darkly. No one, that was who, no one could help. And Harry accepted that.

He was too far gone for help.

Harry sighed heavily, scratching his hand where the red words sat engraved into his skin. After all this time, he still hadn't found a spell to heal those scars. It seemed the universe didn't want him to forget all the pain he had suffered through in his short 18 years of life. 'Scars were just another kind of memory', after all, and Harry certainly knew that. He felt tears spring into his eyes. Harry blinked rapidly, getting rid of the tears.

No, Harry was not going to be weak. He was alone, yes, but he had been alone for most his life, and he had turned out fine. Well, Harry admitted, that was debatable. But that didn't matter; he turned out fine all things considered. And since there was no one else here to help him, he was just going to have to find his friends himself.

And he wasn't going to make the same mistakes again. He was going to find his friends alone. Adults, time and time again, failed at protecting him. Dumbledore failed at protecting him against his own family.

And he didn't want to go through that again.

Every adult he had as a guardian hurt him in some way. Sirius didn't, but Harry, even if he didn't say it to his Godfather, knew Sirius was capable of vicious anger, of exploding, and that scared Harry.

Even after all these years, the fear of being hurt by adults was very much present. And unfortunately, that included his Godfather and despite his brain protesting, his heart agreed. Still.

Harry knew it was irrational to think that way, but he never quite got over his aversion towards fatherly figures, or motherly figures at that. Parental figures, then. None had ever worked out well for him.

Sirius, yes, but he was more of a friend. Harry still had to walk on eggshells around his Godfather, not wanting to risk his Sirius' anger.

Sighing, Harry cast a few glamour's, changing his hair brown and his eyes blue and planned to use his usual alias that he had thought of. Evan Jameson. A little bit of him still. He left the café, going to Diagon Alley. Maybe Dumbledore was alive in this world. If he was, he'd help Harry. But how would he get there?

His eyes landed on a broom being placed against the wall by a kid his age. Glancing around, he placed a disillusionment charm on the broom, before walking towards it, a disillusionment charm on himself as well, before he stole the broom. He flew away quickly; hoping brooms didn't have tracking charms.

He just had to find Dumbledore.

* * *

Harry landed gracefully, and hid his broom quickly, before he walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, watching his surroundings carefully. Everything was good, until he quite literally ran into Lucius Malfoy. Reeling, he stumbled back as Lucius turned to him.

"You're supposed to be dead," Harry breathed out angrily, standing quickly.

"James?" Lucius asked who was looking confused and suspicious, which made Harry even more confused paired with the man calling him James. Why was Lucius mentioning his father?

But despite all that, it didn't stop Harry from flinging his arm out.

"Reducto!" Harry roared, but Lucius was fast, blocking the spell before reaching out to grab him. Harry dodged out of the way, but before he could get very far, Lucius was on top of him, pinning him down.

"You just attacked an Auror," Lucius snarled, and Harry froze for a few seconds. But survival instincts quickly took over and he kneed Lucius in the crotch, who rolled off of Harry painfully. Harry leapt agilely to his feet, grabbing his wand but Lucius recovered quickly, conjuring a shield.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Lucius whispered, holding his hands up, and Harry stared at him suspiciously. "I work for the Auror department, see?" He held out a badge, and Harry glanced down at it quickly, and also took notice to the cloak he was wearing. An Auror cloak. "I'm not going to hurt you," Lucius repeated.

"That's what a Death Eater would say," Harry hissed, before backing away. Lucius looked stunned.

"I'm not a Death Eater," Lucius tried, but Harry shook his head, hand clenching around his wand. Lucius seemed to know what he was planning, because he shot out a curse before Harry could. "Incarcerous."

He saw the white light coming towards him, but Harry threw up a shield before it could get him, and flung out his own curse at Lucius who was advancing towards him.

"Auguamenti, Levicorpus," He hissed, Lucius' shield faltered when he got hit with the stream of water, and the man was hit with the second curse. Harry stared up at him, but was surprised to see the surprise and fear on the man's face. Harry's face hardened. Lucius was just trying to get him to let his guard down. "Cru-"

"Please," Lucius whispered, and Harry was surprised.

Lucius never begged. He would have taunted Harry, like he did after he had killed Ginny if he was a Death Eater. Confused, Harry cut off, stopping the curse, and he backed away, shaking his head, continuing to stare at the man in front of him.

Feeling stupid, he remembered it was Code Blue Box, and it was entirely possible that this world was completely different from his. It sure felt that way. His eyes connected with Lucius' and he looked extremely confused.

"I'm sorry," Harry choked, before running off, too emotionally shaken to continue.

He knew he should run, get out, leave. No doubt Lucius would run back to his Auror buddies and they'd be after him, wands a blazing. But Harry didn't do that, he couldn't even think properly as he sobbed sorrowfully.

He didn't care anymore, he didn't want to fight. He knew he should care, or risk death, but his mind was reeling. His body was wracked with pain and unending _loneliness_ of all things. He couldn't fight it, and he sunk to his knees, hands clenching his hair, shaking with pain. He was vaguely aware of his surroundings, but didn't react.

He was too far gone.


	3. Like a Detuned Radio

_**Chapter Three: Like a Detuned Radio**_

I can accept the idea of my own demise, but I am unable to accept the death of anyone else

\- Maya Angelou

* * *

 **James' POV**

"Professor," Lucius said, stepping out of the fireplace in the Order's headquarters at the Potter's house. The man looked confused, deep in thought.

Sirius, James, Remus, Lily, Frank, Arthur, Molly, the twins and Severus were sitting too, turning to look at Lucius with eyebrows raised. Severus' eyes connected with Lucius' and James observed as Severus darkened. Lucius looked funny, like he was in pain, but physically, he looked fine.

"Lucius," Headmaster greeted, eyes twinkling.

"There was a young man in Hogsmeade who just attacked me out of nowhere," Lucius said, emotionless. Sirius stood up, but Remus grabbed his wrist tightly and James kicked him hard. Sirius sat down quickly.

"What?" Sirius growled. "Was he a Death Eater?" Lucius shrugged.

"I don't know. He didn't look older than a 16 but he thought _I_ was a Death Eater." Severus rolled his eyes.

"Really? You're in Auror robes," Severus said, sneering. Lucius shrugged again.

"He didn't seem to believe me when I pointed that out," Lucius said, looking thoughtful, running his hand through his sopping hair. Severus stared at him dryly.

"Why're you wet?" Lucius snarled.

"The little brat used Auguamenti on me!" Lucius huffed, though James knew it was only his pride that was injured. James laughed, of all things. Lucius glared at him.

"Auguamenti? In a fight?" James asked, slightly disbelieving. Lucius, once again, only shrugged.

"We should investigate," Lucius insisted, and turned to look at the old professor as he sat with his hands folded in his lap, an amused twinkle in his eyes. James knew that look and apparently Lucius did too because he glared at the old coot and tensed. "But we aren't going to, are we?"

"Are we really supposed to believe that a young man attacked you?" Albus mused. Lucius sighed.

"He's dangerous." Lily laughed.

"He's a child," She teased.

Although James had to admit he wasn't quite sure that was a valid reason to believe he wasn't dangerous.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry was curled up on his side, eyes flickering around him nervously and trembling hard. He could feel himself slipping into the flashbacks, and he tried to put up his wall, but wasn't quite able to. He inhaled deeply, trying, but failing, to make himself feel better, to feel anything at all other than fear and pain.

But there would be no such luck.

 _Harry sat at the kitchen table, staring at his hands. Remus paused, before sighing, standing up._

 _"_ _Harry," Remus whispered, pulling Harry into a hug, and Harry shuddered, leaning into the touch. "What happened, it wasn't your fault." Harry was silent. Remus pulled away, staring at Harry searchingly. "Whatever condition they're in when we do find them and we do rescue them, won't be your fault." Harry bit his lip, tears springing to his eyes._

 _"_ _How can you say that, Moony?" Harry asked softly. "Tonks is gone, because of me." Remus sucked in a shaky breath._

 _"_ _That wasn't your fault." Remus cupped his hand around Harry's chin. "Promise me you'll stop feeling that way."_

Harry choked. "I'm so sorry," He sobbed, and another flashback gripped him.

 _He watched Remus fall, heard Bellatrix's cackling, and felt the floor hit his knees. He heard Ron's shout, and barely realized his best friend was racing after Remus' killer, and, Harry noted vaguely, their torturer as Bellatrix tortured Ron, Harry and Ginny along with Lucius. She hadn't been able to resist. But to Harry's relief, Ron wasn't nearly as broken as Ginny. And Harry was immensely relieved that Ginny wasn't dead. Tortured, destroyed, broken, but not dead, not like Remus. Not like the one person he had left._

 _"_ _Remus," He whispered, as he crawled over to his last family member, grabbing Remus' hand. "Please, get up. You're okay. Please." He sobbed uselessly into Remus' chest, grief taking over, even though in the back of his mind he knew he was risking his life, his and Ginny's. He had to snap out of it, he knew that, especially when he heard the shaky, tortured sobs of Ginny beside him._

 _He turned to look at her, and her eyes met his. His legs trembled, seeing the blankness in her eyes, seeing the brokenness that the month of torture Lucius and Bellatrix put Ron and Ginny under created in his girlfriend._

 _"_ _Harry, the memories," Ginny whispered. "Make it stop. It hurts." Harry only shuddered, and with strength he didn't realize he still possessed, he got sucked back into reality, and he threw his arms out, curses already on the tip of his tongue. Everything was going to be okay, or at least that was what he promised Ginny._

 _Too bad it only applied to him._

 _Harry watched from the ground, a diffindo had cut his stomach open, and he lay there, clutching the gash, throwing up a shield behind the duelling Ginny, who had found a strength in her that made her fight, a strength that gave Harry hope that she would get through her trauma. He was trying to cover her back since he couldn't physically do it._

 _But then Dolohov crashed into him, bringing him into a fist fight, and Harry couldn't cover her. And he barely caught the moment Lucius appeared behind her and the green curse flew from his wand. Harry was in the motions of bringing his wand out but Lucius had Harry's wand before Harry could even say anything._

 _"_ _You couldn't save her, Potter," Lucius snarled, and Harry looked over at the red head. Harry felt the grief consume him, gut wrenching, heart stopping, and suffocating, grief. "Now you're going to die as well. Crucio." Harry felt the pain, but there was also satisfaction. Satisfaction at the fact that Harry was getting what he deserved. He deserved to feel this pain as he was the reason so many had died. But Lucius soon stopped and his emotionless state quickly left as his eyes landed on Ginny, who looked peaceful, like she was before. Before she was tortured to near insanity._

 _"_ _Get away from him!" He heard a voice roar, and barely noticed the pop of Lucius Apparating away._

 _All he was focused on was Ginny and Remus._

 _He crawled over to them, his world narrowing onto his loved ones, more people who died because of him, and he barely felt the arms wrap around his, barely comprehended Dobby's face and the feeling of Apparating away with the house elf and his friends. All Harry noticed was the feel of Ginny's cold body in his arms, Remus' rough hand clutched in his, and the taste of tears; he realized his tears, in his mouth._

 _They were buried beside the beach at Shell Cottage._

Harry stared up at the sky, but he wasn't there, not really. He knew he was saying their names though. He was repeating them over and over and over.

 _Harry was in the cell, screaming along with the sounds of Hermione and Ron. The cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange was deafening, and Harry roared angrily, hitting the wall, barely noticing the blood on his knuckles._

 _He tumbled to the ground, bowing his head over his knees, covering his ears. It was his fault. All his fault. It was all his fault. And now Ron and Hermione were being tortured._

 _"_ _Torture me, instead!" Harry screeched, voice cracking. "Leave them alone!"_

 _"_ _Harry, you know the more you scream the more she'll torture them," The voice of Peter Pettigrew drifted into the cell, and Harry snarled angrily. "Crucio." Harry welcomed the pain. But it was gone in an instant and the rat was gone._

 _Harry barely noticed the gentle hand on his shoulder. Looking up, his eyes connected with Luna's and she gave him a watery smile. But the smile did nothing to ease his guilt. The sight of the blond haired man, simply an older version of Luna, lying dead on the carpet was forever ingrained into his mind. And the way Luna's eyes hardened as she stared blankly up at him and his friends when they were brought in had made his heart clench. There was a sort of darkness in her now, a darkness that never touched her before, not even when she saw her mother die from a potions accident. But it was there now. Bellatrix had succeeded, and it was all Harry's fault._

 _Harry shut his eyes tightly, pushing the heels of his hands hard into his eyes. His body shook with silent sobs, and Luna sat down beside him._

 _"_ _Luna, I'm so sorry," Harry whispered. "It's my fault they were at the wedding." Luna shook her head._

 _"_ _We weren't caught because of the wedding, Harry," She said wispily. "We were fine for a while, actually, but they captured us at home a-and, well, you saw his body when she brought you in." Luna wasn't looking at him, staring at the ground instead as she traced a pattern into the sandy floor. Harry placed his hand on top of hers gently and she turned her hand, grabbing a hold of his._

 _"_ _We're going to get out of this. We're going to be okay." But again, it didn't apply to everyone, and when Harry realized this, he cursed fate for not taking him instead. When he escaped with Luna, Harry did what he should have let Remus and Sirius do ages ago._

 _He exterminated the rat._

 _And a dark part of him felt hope with that action, felt that he could save his friends._

 _But he knew something bad had happened even when he was trapped in the cell, before he escaped, as he wasn't able to hear Ron's screams. All he heard was Hermione's shuddering wails, and then she was silent as well. He knew she was alive though, as he was able to hear Bellatrix taunting her for being muggleborn._

 _But he was in denial, and he was running on some dark high from using the killing curse, and he thought he could save them. And he did, he saved Hermione and Luna. Well, a part of them. They weren't whole, no, they had broken, and a piece of them was missing, just like him. He hated himself for being the reason why they were so broken._

 _Dobby, his loyal friend, saved them for the last time even if it was only physically._

 _Could they be saved from their memories? From experience, he highly doubted it. Deep down, he knew his friends never would._

 _Hermione was hurt, really hurt. She was hurt continuously for the whole time they were there. But he knew that wasn't what was torturing her. Physical torture was nothing compared to internal torture. From experience, he knew that._

 _Ron's death was what haunted her, and will haunt her for the rest of her life._

 _He couldn't disagree; the image of his first friend would forever be ingrained in his mind._

Harry sobbed, hands gripping the ground in anger. But he didn't have the strength to stop another flashback. He lay there, accepting it, welcoming the pain of it.

 _Harry ran, his throat sore from shouting, the pain and anger making his muscles hum with adrenaline._

 _He wanted it to end. He wanted to go with him. He didn't want to lose him._

 _But arms were around him in an instant, holding him back, letting him scream until he was hoarse, but stopping him from entering the Veil after his Godfather._

 _But the arms couldn't stop him from going after her._

And then the flashback quickly melted into another.

 _Harry watched as Snape pointed his wand at the old wizard. And Dumbledore just looked on with resignation. Harry was itching to yell, to do something, but he knew the Death Eaters would be on him in a second._

 _So all he could do was watch as the man Dumbledore trusted was the one who gave the final blow, the killing curse that made his professor fall of the Astronomy tower in a tangle of limbs and blood._

Harry was vaguely aware of the ground on his cheek and the cold seeping through his clothing as he lay on the grass, but he did nothing, too caught up in his vicious nightmare.

"Dumbledore!" He managed to choke out, and he sat up, eyes wild and slightly glazed as he looked around himself. His eyes landed on a woman, and Harry reached out. He struggled to remain conscious as he watched the woman he reached out for make his way towards him. Harry struggled to breathe.

"Dumbledore….dead," He rasped out, and the woman wrenched herself away from Harry, but not before he caught sight of who it was. He laughed when he saw another dead person in front of him.

"Tonks."

Harry couldn't stop laughing now. How utterly cruel.

The woman seemed to stiffen, and Harry registered the woman's arm whip out, a curse on her lips, but it was like Harry could see it all in slow motion and he rolled onto his side as he flung his arm out.

"Stupefy!" He barely muttered. The curse hit home, and Harry stood up, adrenaline giving him back the strength that his flashback drained from him. He stared down confusedly at Tonks before running to where he hid his broom and flying away, knowing it was stupid, but wanting something familiar.

He went to Diagon Alley.

* * *

 **James' POV**

"Headmaster," Tonks rasped as she flung the doors open. Again, the Order looked over at another person, and James raised an eyebrow when he noticed how out of control the woman looked.

"Tonks," Dumbledore greeted, eyeing the woman curiously. Tonks didn't wait long for him to question.

"I found a boy in Hogsmeade," Tonks said, and the others stiffened. "He mentioned you and…well, you being dead. And he laughed." There was silence in the room and James could see Sirius' blood start to boil. James could feel his own anger and protectiveness rise out of him. "When I went to stop him, he cursed me and ran away. He's quick, powerful, especially for his age." Lucius wasn't moving.

"How old?" The man finally choked out, and Tonks winced.

"Maybe 15 or 16," Tonks admitted, and all eyes turned to Dumbledore.

"Now what?" Sirius snarled. "Are you going to ignore it now?" Dumbledore pursed his lips.

"Well, no," Dumbledore agreed, turning to the Order. "It might be nothing, so I'll leave it to the Aurors. The Order members who aren't Aurors will stay here. Only get involved if it gets more serious." He then turned to James, Lily, Lucius, Sirius, Alice, Tonks and Frank as they were the only ones that were a part of the Order and Aurors. "Go to the Ministry; let Gawain decide what to do." As they got ready to leave, James turned to his wife.

"Lils, stay here," He pleaded, and she stared up at him, green eyes determined.

"No way, Potter," She said, clenching her jaw, before rolling her eyes cockily. He was rubbing off on her, James realized wryly. But this wasn't a joking matter, and James shook his head.

"Lils, he could be a Death Eater," James insisted weakly, as he knew he was losing.

"He's a teenager, what's the worst he can do? Besides, there's probably a reason why he attacked them, don't you think?" Lily maintained eye contact, and James felt his resolve weaken. She stood up straighter. "Besides, you're my husband, not my babysitter, and I can take care of myself." James sighed, agreeing.

"You're right, sorry love," James said abashedly, and Lily smiled softly, kissing him lightly on the lips. James continued to look at her worriedly, but she shook her head.

"Overprotective fool," She whispered. "We're a team, and you know I hate when you act better than me." He knew she could take care of herself, and if he didn't back down, she'd give him the silent treatment for a week for being an 'overprotective fool'. He looked at her apologetically and she smiled. "I'm coming either way." James chuckled, pulling his wife close.

"I don't doubt it. Besides, I know how horrible your hexes are." Lily grinned.

"Well then, let's go," She chirped. Taking that as a signal, the Aurors stood up, put on their cloaks and Apparated to the Ministry, walking over to the Auror Department. Gawain Robards gave them a thin-lipped smile.

"Auror Potter, Auror Black. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sirius cut straight to the point, and James gladly let him take the reins.

"A boy attacked Lucius, and Tonks today, and said something about Albus Dumbledore's death," Sirius said, all business, not a hint of the reckless teen that James befriended in his youth was present. James sighed, before turning back to face his boss. If she was shocked, she didn't show it.

"Where is he now?" She inquired, and Sirius clenched his jaw.

"He flew away but the last place he was in was Hogsmeade." She nodded professionally.

"Longbottom, Malfoy, Fortescue," She turned to Frank, Lucius and Alice, who went by her maiden name in terms of Auror names so she wasn't confused with her husband. "Go to Hogsmeade, see what clues you can find." She then turned to the others. "Potter, Black, and Evans, go to Diagon Alley, see if he's there. If he goes to popular places like Hogsmeade, he would probably go to Diagon Alley too." Gawain then turned to three other Aurors. "Savage, Tonks, Dawlish and Proudfoot, put out a search warning for the boy, and back up the others in Diagon Alley if need be. You guys too." She nodded towards Frank, Alice and Lucius. They nodded back slightly.

And then they all Apparated away to their places.


	4. Doctor, The Problem's In My Chest

_**Chapter Four: Doctor, The Problem's In My Chest**_

Truth is everybody is going to hurt you, you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.

\- Bob Marley

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry sat in the Leaky Cauldron; glancing over at the door every so often to make sure no one was barging in, wands a ready. Wincing, Harry turned to Tom, murmuring a quick thank you when he was handed his butterbeer. Tom walked behind the bar where the wizard version of a radio could be heard.

"All wizards," The disembodied voice began, "Are asked to keep an eye out for a young boy, around 15 years though he may be older, with brown hair, glasses and blue eyes. He's wearing muggle clothing. Call the Auror department if any leads are found." Harry stood up slowly from his table, opening the door, hoping that Tom would take a while with connecting the dots. Just as he stepped outside, he heard a surprised shout from inside the Leaky Cauldron. As if that was his signal, he sprinted down the street, before he skidded to a halt when he heard voices.

"What the hell, Avery?" A voice, Dolohov, snapped. "Pay attention!" There was silence.

"He wants Ollivander, doesn't he? We're not even close." Another man, Harry recognized as Rookwood, sniped. Ollivander? Was Voldemort already looking for the Elder Wand? Harry paused in his retreat, wand clenched in his hand when he heard the next voice.

"Shove off, Rookwood. You weren't doing shit either," The high pitched voice of Bellatrix Lestrange snapped. Harry could barely contain his anger, and fought down every emotion inside of him. He could _not_ have a flashback now.

"Let's split up," Dolohov said. "Rowle, Yaxley, Travers, Avery and Selwyn, go right. Carrow's, Bellatrix, Rookwood, and I will go left." That got Harry moving. He turned on his heel to run, right around the corner to come face to face with a group of Aurors. Startled when curses started to be thrown his way, he flung his arm up.

"Protego!" He said as he spun on his heel, and swore, dodging curses as he ran back down the street. He was fast, and pretty soon he lost them as they got caught up in the Death Eater's shenanigans.

Someone set a building across the street on fire.

Breathing heavily, he scurried into Flourish and Blotts. But before he could continue, he collided with someone, falling backwards. His eyes darted up quickly, hand clenching his wand, and he froze.

"Tonks?" Harry gasped. She was surprised as well, and Harry used that to his advantage. "Stupefy." It took her by surprise, and Tonks fell down with a thud. "Sorry." But he wasn't, not really. He snuck out the back door, planning to sneak back around the Aurors to get to his broom.

"Hey! Recruit," Harry heard a voice shout, and he ran faster. "What the hell?!" The Death Eater wasn't pleased with the curse Harry had fired at him, and he took that as more of a reason to run faster.

The Death Eater chased after him and Harry ducked into the Leaky Cauldron again, when he felt a wand at his throat and his wand flew across the room.

"You," Tom hissed. "You're the one threatening Dumbledore." Harry was confused.

"What?" He asked, voice soft.

"Don't play dumb with me, Death Eater!" Tom hissed, pressing his wand harder into Harry's neck. Harry hissed angrily, aching for his wand again. "Hey! Ov-"

But a jet of green light cut Tom off, and Harry stumbled away fearfully. He looked up into the eyes of Avery, who was standing behind the bar casually, as if he didn't just kill a man.

"You're supposed to be with the other Recruits. I saved you this time, but you're on your own now," Avery said, glancing past Harry. Harry was confused when Avery smiled wickedly before melting back into the shadows, and Harry was alone.

Well, not exactly.

He could hear the shouts of the Aurors approaching, and Harry ducked just in time to avoid the curses thrown at him. Lunging for his wand, he glanced around him, trapped. But not quite.

"Defodio," He hissed at the wall, and it dug through the concrete, allowing a hole for Harry to escape into. He went to go right, but Aurors were there, and he spun left, running down the alley, dodging curses that were thrown by the Aurors. Faltering, Harry sent out a fumbled spell.

"Reducto!" He shouted. It hit a building, causing it to crumble and bricks to fall into the alley. But the Aurors were still cursing. "Confringo." The bricks were set on fire and blasted at the Aurors, who had to leap away, though most weren't unscathed. Harry could hear brief screams and knew bricks and curses would be flying at him soon. But by that time, Harry was long gone, and so was the guilt he felt for attacking the Aurors. It wasn't his fault they jumped to conclusions.

He looked briefly behind him, before running into an Auror, who he recognized as Dawlish, and he felt hands wrap around his wrists. Stomping on the man's instep and then punching the man in the jaw, Harry twisted free, pointing his wand out, but the man conjured a shield. Being close enough, Harry kicked the man in the nuts and he fell down in pain, dropping his shield momentarily. Harry wasted no time.

"Stupefy," He said calmly. Another two Aurors, who he recognized, Savage and Proudfoot, appeared and Harry dodged more curses, running towards the outskirts of the alley. "Augaumenti." Hit Proudfoot and his shield dropped. Wasting no time, Harry continued. "Furnunculus." He could hear Proudfoot's cry of pain, and Harry spun to his left, throwing his last pursuer off. "Impedimenta." But it was blocked. "Avis, Oppugno." The birds attacked Savage, distracting the man, and Harry shot another curse. "Stupefy." The man fell, and Harry kicked up the speed, side aching where a diffindo had hit him, though not deep.

But unlucky for him, he ran into one last Auror.

"Alice?" Harry asked disbelievingly, indeed recognizing the woman. Alice Longbottom. But she was sane, healthy, so much different to the Alice he knew. She disarmed him immediately, and Harry looked around fearfully, trying to figure out what to do.

"You attacked 10 Aurors in one night," She said softly, cautiously, shaking her head. Harry took a step back when she advanced, and ducked into a roll when a curse flew at him. He ducked behind a tree, cursing as he held his arm out, urging his magic to listen even without the wand.

"Accio wand," He whispered, running when Alice continued to follow him. "C'mon, c'mon, accio wand!" Maybe it was desperation, maybe it was the fact that he was concentrating with all his might, but his wand flew into his hand, and without wasting time, he stunned Alice, feeling a stab of guilt, and ran back to get his broom.

But luck was not on his side tonight.

Before he knew it, he was unconscious.

* * *

 **Sirius' POV**

Sirius and James stormed through the Department, not really hurt physically, though their egos took quite the beating. Sirius was one of the top Aurors along with Frank, Alice, Lucius, Lily and James. James, not only was he a good fighter, he was also the field medic for them all! He was bloody talented, they all were at combat, yet a little _boy_ managed to fight them off easily. Sirius wasn't just upset. He was _furious._ Gawain gave them a look over with her eyebrows raised before turning to Frank, who only shrugged helplessly.

"Things didn't really go as planned," Frank said softly.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, tone almost amused. Sirius snarled.

"Tom's dead," Sirius said darkly, glancing at the two men beside him. He could see the flash of anger in James' eyes, though James was holding it in better than Sirius was. But he knew James was seething, and he was going to explode soon. Frank was unbelievable stiff, but remained stoic. Gawain's mouth twitched.

"Lily's burned," James said coldly, and Frank put a reassuring hand on James' shoulder.

Lily had only recently returned from leave, she came back 5 years ago, since she was taking care of their kids. Not that they needed her to be there 24/7, but both James and Lily were paranoid with leaving their children, especially after Harry. But James was as overprotective as ever, constantly fussing over her injuries. Heck, he even started bringing more field potions in case something went bad. But he was the best Healer on the field and he was an excellent fighter as well. Not as good as Sirius, Frank and Alice, they were better, not by much, but still better. Despite that, no one could argue that the six of them were undeniably skilled. So the dark haired, bespectacled man was overreacting slightly.

Even though he would never say it out loud, James did have a knack for the melodramatics. Lily was _fine,_ but he stopped insisting on that when a hex nearly burned his nose off. Overprotective git.

"She'll live, and the Healer said no scarring, since it wasn't severe," Frank said calmly. James didn't seem to care that Lily's burns were simply like severe sunburns. Sirius had to agree with Frank. Lily was a fighter, and the kid, Sirius reluctantly admitted, hadn't _tried_ to hurt them. But he was still pissed.

"The boy?" She asked. Sirius and James darkened at the mention of the child. Frank interceded.

"For Lily, yes. He attacked us all. In terms of Tom, we don't know," Frank admitted. "When we attacked, he lunged for his wand, but no one else was there." Sirius knew Frank could feel his and James' eyes drilling a hole into the man's skull, but Frank wasn't flinching. "It could have been Death Eaters, they were there too."

"Could've been Death Eaters? He _is_ a Death Eater!" Sirius snarled. Frank shook his head.

"We don't know that. He didn't kill us when he could have," Frank pointed out, and James jaw clicked.

"He almost killed Lily," James snarled. Frank rolled his eyes. Sirius wanted to, but his loyalty to his friend won, and Sirius simply fidgeted uncomfortably. "We don't know if he killed Tom, but we know he was the reason why Lily was burned and Lucius is unconscious." Frank sighed.

"He's not a Death Eater, and he didn't kill Tom," Frank insisted, but before the other two Aurors could yell, Gawain held her hands up warningly. Like the trained Aurors they were, Sirius, James, and Frank quieted. Gawain looked thoughtful.

"There're two opinions here. We'll search for him, since he did attack countless Aurors, but if you catch him, bring him in. We can't jump to conclusions; we all know what'll happen if we're wrong and the public finds out." Gawain paused. "Any other injuries?" Frank nodded. "The boy?" Sirius growled.

"The little shit hit a building with Reducto then went on to confringo the bricks at us," Sirius said, clenching his fists, and Frank sighed, shaking his head. Sirius turned to glare at the other Auror, but Frank wasn't looking at him.

"We weren't severely hurt, except for Auror Malfoy, who was hit with a brick and knocked unconscious and Auror Evans is burned, though not severely," Frank said. James shivered angrily. Sirius looked pointedly at the man. "Despite how James insists it was life threatening." James looked indignant, but Gawain gave a soft chuckle.

"He has always been protective," She mused, and James rolled his eyes.

"He's still a little fucker," James muttered darkly. Sirius patted his shoulder, half in comfort, and half in warning. Despite his own anger, Sirius knew he was just a kid, and he didn't want James to bloody murder the boy.

"Auror Potter, Auror Black and I are mostly just bruised and burned," Frank admitted. "And not just physically." Sirius was silent, but inside he was seething. James gripped his shoulder now and continued.

"The dick kind of beat up Auror Dawlish, and Auror Proudfoot was cursed with Furnunculus, the clever bastard used auguamenti to break the shield," James said and shook his head. Sirius pouted, surprised that the boy didn't try more lethal curses, yet still managed to kick their asses. "He used birds to distract Auror Savage and then just stupefied him. The only ones unscathed were Alice and Tonks." James paused. "Well, they were stunned."

"Doesn't really sound Death Eater style, leaving the others alive when he could have killed them," Gawain muttered, looking up at them. James seemed unwilling to agree, and Sirius was still furious. Frank nodded.

"That's why I don't think he killed Tom," He admitted and avoided Sirius' and James' glares.

"But it's highly likely he did," Sirius argued and Gawain sighed.

"Auror, we aren't 100% certain, though, and I'm not going to jump the gun," Gawain warned authoritatively. "Do what I say." Frank's eyes widened and Sirius controlled himself, knowing the man could see the mutinous look in James' eyes. Sirius sighed, elbowing James roughly, and quirked a smile when he could see the logic and reason seeping back into James' brain now that he controlled himself. He knew that James was going to be quite embarrassed when Lily came out of the hospital and berated him for making such a fuss over 2nd degree burns. But he remained silent. Sirius still felt angry, for Tom. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked at Frank.

"I'll keep them in check," Frank said, glaring at James, who nodded as well. Sirius felt insulted, but schooled his expression. "C'mon, let's get a drink."

* * *

"Ugh," Dawlish groaned, holding the glass against his jaw. "I can't believe we were beat up by a child! And how the hell did he learn to fight like that?" Sirius snorted, rubbing his arms. The burning bricks hit their mark on every Auror present for that fiasco, and the whole lot of them were feeling the pain.

"I don't know," Sirius said wearily, his anger already pretty much gone. "Does anyone even know his name? Lils, did you find anything?"

Lily looked over, halting her conversation with James. Sirius fought down a cheeky remark. His best mate and the red head were sitting so close they were nearly on top of each other. Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. Sirius looked her over. Frank had been right, and James was simply being overprotective. The burns weren't that bad, she was just pretty pink.

"No," Lily said, glancing over at Remus. The werewolf looked tired and slightly exasperated. "Remus and I searched everything, but he has no paper trail. No wizards that are alive right now ages 12 to 18 can be pinned as the boy from Diagon." Lily huffed. James rubbed his wife's back soothingly.

"Don't worry, Lils, we'll get him," James said and Savage growled.

"Damn right we will," He said gruffly, taking a swig of his beer before wincing slightly. "Poor Proudfoot's terribly sore and embarrassed. At least his wife's a Mediwitch, and she's tending to him." Sirius snorted.

"Damn kid," He said roughly. Lily sighed.

"He's just a kid," She snapped. The people around her looked indignant, and Sirius couldn't help but think she must have gone mental. "Maybe he didn't want to be a Death Eater." James shivered angrily.

"Lily, he burned you!" He snarled. Lily shot him a glare.

"I've already told you, I'm perfectly fine. Besides, I don't think he did it on purpose. He was simply defending himself," She snarled back. Sirius was shocked.

"You're protecting him?" Sirius asked incredulously, and Lily sent him a withering glare.

"He's a teenager!" She argued, and Sirius glared back at her.

"He killed Tom!" Sirius hissed, and Lily crossed her arms. Sirius was almost afraid.

"No he didn't!" She said dangerously and everyone fidgeted nervously. They all knew how angry Lily could get. "You were all there when we went to the Leaky Cauldron. If he had killed Tom, he would've had a wand, and he wouldn't have had to leap to the other side of the room before cursing us. That means that he didn't have a wand when we arrived, so he didn't kill Tom." The Aurors were silent.

"Can you prove that?" Savage asked. Lily sighed.

"We can just use Veritaserum, if he agrees to it," Remus said, running a hand down his face. "Besides, we're all going to be there." James was surprised.

"What, why?" James asked, and Remus winced.

"Gawain has had complaints from people claiming they've been assaulted and their rights have been violated in private in the interrogation room. So you're interrogating him in front of the other Aurors and me, since I'm part of the Order with Dumbledore. Especially since he's still a minor." James pursed his lips.

"Well then," James said and glanced over at the younger woman, who was staring ahead of her.

"Hey, Tonks, what's up?" Sirius asked, noticing the new Auror as well when James turned to look at her. She seemed distant, and Sirius exchanged looks with James.

"Tonks?" James asked as well. She seemed to break out of her trance, and looked over at Sirius and James.

"Yeah?" She asked dazedly, and James chuckled.

"I asked what's up," Sirius said, smiling lightly, but eyeing her carefully. Tonks still seemed a little out of it, and James and Sirius made eye contact once more.

"Are you here?" James asked softly, touching her hand lightly. She sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Yeah, I'm here, James. Just thinking about the boy," Tonks mumbled. James pursed his lips.

"Aren't we all?" He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"It seemed like he knew me," Tonks said, and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Knew you?" He repeated, a little skeptical. Tonks must have noticed his tone, because she huffed indignantly, glaring at him. Sirius rolled his eyes, and she sighed heavily.

"Yeah, he addressed me by name," Tonks said, seeming to be slightly disturbed. James shrugged.

"You're an Auror, and you've been in the paper. He must have seen your name there," He said easily. Tonks pursed her lips, nodding but she still didn't look convinced.

"I don't know how to explain it. He said it like he couldn't believe it was me." Sirius pondered this.

"Maybe he just didn't expect you to be after him," He suggested, but Tonks shook her head.

"No," She said, but she didn't provide a counterargument. But she did drop a bombshell. "He kind of reminded me of you. Don't know why though." She turned to James and the man quirked an eyebrow. "He had brown hair and blue eyes, but physically, he looked like you."

"You think he was a Potter?" He asked, confused, and Tonks shrugged slightly.

"Yeah, maybe," Tonks agreed but Sirius was unconvinced.

"But you said he had blue eyes," Sirius said contemplatively.

"I don't know, Sirius, I just thought I'd mention it," Tonks said exasperatedly and Sirius sighed.

"I don't know anyone else in my family who looks like that," James murmured. Sirius studied his friend for a bit. He knew James internalized it all, especially after they lost their first child so young.

Her first pregnancy was so difficult and poor Harry was born premature on May 15th, 1980. He was so sick; he never even opened his eyes and as nothing like his case had ever happened in the wizarding world, he wasn't growing or developing like he should have. And days turned into weeks turned into months, and he died at a mere 1 and a half months. He hadn't even opened his eyes. Sirius didn't think they'd ever recover. They only did for Sirius and Remus, but were husks of their old selves. But then, three years later, Lily was pregnant. So, they woke up.

Lily's second pregnancy was a breeze.

And when the twins arrived, Calla Rose Potter and Ren Elizabeth Potter, healthy and happy, on April 1st, 1983, they survived. That was how they coped; channeling their grief into the act of trying to replace the baby they lost. Not that they would ever be able to replace Harry. Even if they could, they quickly realized that no baby, let alone _two_ were ever going to be able to fill the holes in their hearts. He'd always be there with them. And they got so much better; as the years went by.

It was all working out; Harry was simply a distant, yet still painful, memory of the past.

And with this strange arrival, Sirius didn't want James to fall too far again. He had already done that, and Sirius would be damned if he let his friend sink to rock bottom again.

"Hey, mate, are you here?" Sirius asked softly, carefully. James blinked a few times, before smirking.

"Yeah," He laughed. "You're using my saying now?" Sirius smirked, shrugging.

"I guess so," Sirius said lightly, but he couldn't help the anger from appearing a bit. James quieted again.

"Could he be H-Harry?" James murmured quietly. Sirius was silent, but his face darkened.

"Harry's dead, Prongs, we both know that," Sirius said darkly, taking a swig of the firewhisky.

"I know," James whispered, but Sirius didn't respond. James shuddered. Sirius felt a stab of guilt.

Boy, did he know.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry opened his eyes, looking around him. Dolohov was in front of him in a moment.

"You stupid recruit," Dolohov snarled. "The Dark Lord wants a piece of you." Dolohov shoved him roughly into a large, dark room. "He'll be here soon."

"I already am."

Damn it all to hell.

Harry tried, he really did. But he blamed it on the disorientation of being in a different universe for being unable to escape, because before he knew it, he was unconscious.

* * *

"Crucio." Harry writhed in pain, barely able to comprehend it, it was so mind numbing. "Now tell me who you are." Harry wondered who the Boy-Who-Lived was if Voldemort didn't recognize him. Not that he cared, really.

"My name's Harry Potter," Harry murmured, and he saw Voldemort's eye twitch. That was new.

"Liar," Voldemort hissed, and Harry felt the curse again. The Dark Lord frowned. "You don't seem to bend under the Cruciatus curse." He walked over to the table, pulling out a dull dagger. "Let's see how many cuts you can get through with this." A quick wave of his wand and Harry was hanging upside down, watching through his swollen eyelids as Voldemort approached him. The man's cold hands lifted Harry's shirt and Harry clenched his teeth as the dull blade dug into his stomach. Over and over and over.

* * *

Harry was surprised at how creative the Dark Lord could get in his torture methods. And here he thought Voldemort hated muggles. Ah, well, go figure that Voldemort would tolerate muggles as long as he could use their inventions as torture weapons. Harry never knew a rubber ducky could hurt so much.

* * *

He sat in his cell, a place he was usually if he wasn't being tortured or questioned. Voldemort didn't like when Harry would refuse his offer to be one of his Death Eaters and he especially hated insults.

He didn't know how long he had been in the cell for, maybe a week at least, or more which left him thinking. He wondered what his friends were up to, if they were even in this dimension. He hoped they weren't.

But the selfish part of him wished they were here, safe, but with him. He needed them, someone to help.

Really, he wanted anyone to help him.

Harry sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes, faltering when he saw a shadow in the hall.

"Who're you?" He asked hoarsely, and the man moved, coming to stand in front of Harry. "Severus." The man raised an eyebrow, but if he was shocked, he didn't show it. His eyes did harden when they looked him over, but softened when he made eye contact with Harry. Harry leaned back on his heels, strengthening his Occlumency shields. But he didn't feel any intrusion, so he continued to study the man.

"Do I know you?" Severus asked and Harry chuckled.

"No, I guess not," Harry murmured, before wincing in pain. Severus shook his head.

"The Dark Lord wants you to join him, you know. If you do, you won't have to suffer like this," Snape said, sneering condescendingly. Harry continued to glare.

"I'm not a dark wizard," Harry hissed out. Severus barked a laugh.

"Dark wizard? Most of us aren't." Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Then why're you here?" He asked cautiously and Severus gave him a tired smile.

"Because I was born into it." Harry was silent again. He understood that. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when Severus stood up, touching the cell door. "If I give you your wand, do you promise not to hex me?" Harry studied his old professor carefully, before nodding. "Good." Harry was confused.

"Why're you doing this?"

"Have you heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing, Harry?" Severus asked randomly, and Harry froze. Duh.

"You're a-a," Harry started, but Severus hit him in the back of the head.

"Don't go saying it, you idiot," Severus hissed, before opening the cell door. "Here. Now go." Harry didn't need to be told twice. He inched out of the cell, before turning back to look at Severus. Severus stepped back. "Now, stupefy me, and go."

Harry didn't have to be told twice.

Harry ran, hand clutching the broom Severus gave him, and he hopped on it once he was past the wards, flying away, though not quite sure where to.

But he knew he might not even get very far, his wounds making him feel like he was on fire, and his head was spinning dangerously, blurring everything around him, especially since he didn't have his glasses.

He just needed some help.

He landed roughly, and looked around, eyes glazed over in pain. The pain in his wrist and ribs were making him shake nearly uncontrollably and the cuts on his back and stomach were certainly infected.

He learned early on that healing spells didn't work; Voldemort had used some dark magic to render them useless. He needed something stronger, like potions, but being a fugitive kind of had his hands tied. So he cast glamours instead, trying to be a little more presentable.

He rolled onto his stomach, and he was vaguely aware of a shout, before he knew no more.


	5. Honey Don't Feed It

**_Chapter Five: Honey Don't Feed It_**

Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.

\- Thich Nhat Hanh

* * *

 **Remus' POV**

They had done it. After 17 days of searching, the boy had been caught.

He had literally landed in front of the bar they were in, on a broom he had stolen. Remus would have laughed at how foolish the boy was if it wasn't for the fact that he was passed out, and pretty much a waif of a boy. And that he looked strikingly familiar after they had cancelled the glamour's, changing his brown hair black and blue eyes the striking green that reminded Remus of Lily's. Not only that, the wolf in him was antsy, recognizing the boy somehow, recognizing the scent. It confused Remus endlessly, and frustrated him. The boy frustrated him, a puzzle he just couldn't solve. He looked so like James, but different as well. Shaking that thought away, he walked out, standing beside Lily, James and Sirius.

"He looks familiar," Sirius said, confused, and he glanced over at his two friends. "Do you two have an illegitimate child I don't know about?" Lily rolled her eyes, while James flipped him off. Remus ignored him, having learned from past experiences not to dignify Sirius' lewd comments with a response.

"Like you'd know," James sneered. Remus regarded them all thoughtfully.

"I mean, he does look like you, Prongs," He pointed out. "And he's got your eyes, Lils." James just shrugged, and Lily bit her lip, staring at the boy indifferently.

"Dumbledore should be here soon. He'll give us permission or not to do the genealogy test, figure out if the boy's related to us in any way." As James spoke, there was a feeling of static in the air, and Dumbledore arrived with a burst of magical energy.

"This is him?" Dumbledore asked, turning to look at the crowd around the interrogation room. They all nodded. "He's a lot…younger than I thought he'd be." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "This was who everyone was worried about?" He stared at Sirius, Lily and James, and Sirius scowled, the look a blow to his ego. Remus muffled a snicker, knowing it would not go down well with the other Marauders if he laughed at their stupidity.

"Yeah, yeah old man," Sirius grumbled. "We got beaten by James' look-alike teenager."

"He certainly looks like he could be a Potter," Dumbledore mused.

"I've never met him before, and you know how close the Potter family is," James pointed out, and Remus exchanged a look with Sirius, who shrugged slightly. "But who knows, maybe he's related somehow."

"He could be a Potter." Lily shuddered painfully. "But he has green eyes, like-like mine."

"He's not him, Lily," Dumbledore smiled sympathetically at her. "We don't even know what Harry's eye colour was. He was too young." Lily sighed deeply.

"I _know_ , Dumbledore." Lily's eyes flashed angrily. Remus could see James was getting angry too, but he buried it down, and Remus shuddered. James' coldness scared Remus more than his anger. "He's probably a Potter."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Dumbledore said, and waved his wand around the boy and a vial filled up with his blood, before Dumbledore flicked his wrist and the vial disappeared.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry groaned, opening his eyes, waking up from the stupefy that hit him. Confused, he looked around him, noticing the lack of windows and anything that could be used as a weapon and the fact that he was at a table. Panicking, he struggled, looking down at his hands.

"They took it," A voice said, and Harry looked up quickly, coming face to face with a teenager he thought he recognized, leaning against the door, her arms crossed. The maroon hair, which was cropped short, just below her chin, wasn't familiar, but the face shape and the eyes, which were hazel, however, were familiar.

"Who are you?" Harry asked suspiciously, already preparing to flee. The teenager smirked at him, almost too arrogant, and Harry was struck with some recognition. He shifted uncomfortably and winced as the pain flared in his arm, and his ribs protested loudly. Harry schooled his expression, hiding the pain.

The teenager grinned mischievously, and Harry couldn't help but be reminded of Sirius. He latched onto that thought, trying to destroy it before it could take root, but it didn't matter, Harry felt his muscles coil with adrenaline, and he felt himself slipping at the thought of Sirius. The girl was oblivious, and Harry was not surprised when he realized it was because of lack of experience at analyzing a person.

"My name's Ren Potter. I'm 15," She said confidently. Harry didn't react, but inside he was reeling and yet preparing to flee, hyperaware of his surroundings. He tried to stand, but realized he was bound magically, and without a wand, he was unable to break it. Right, he got caught.

He stared coldly at the girl, pondering over the name Potter. This world's Harry had a younger sister?

The girl's expression changed from her cocky one she had before to that of caution and uncertainty, and Harry was surprised at how young the girl looked. Ren didn't seem nearly as haunted as Harry was at 15. She seemed like a kid, like a normal, happy, although she wasn't right now, healthy child, such a far cry from Harry's miserable, grief-stricken, malnourished 15 year old self.

He felt a quick burst of jealousy, but it left as quickly as it came, squashed down with practiced ease.

"Why're you here?" Harry asked carefully, and the girl snorted.

"My dad's an Auror. He was supposed to be watching us, but he got called and was forced to bring me and my sister along. I snuck in." She smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

But Harry wasn't listening, eyes locked on a familiar man as he entered the room. He was younger and darkly handsome with long, black hair down just past his chin, fair skin and striking grey eyes. Those eyes weren't haunted or sunken in, and his skin wasn't sallow and sickly. His teeth, when he flashed Harry a threatening smile, almost predatory, weren't yellow with mistreatment. Ren noticed Harry staring, and she turned.

"This is my uncle, Sirius Black," She said lightly. Sirius frowned down at her.

"Ren, why are you in here?" He scolded, and the girl looked indignant.

"Where's the Marauder in you?" Ren cheeked, and Sirius crossed his arms.

"Not here at the moment, but if you go back to your sister like you were _supposed_ to do in the first place, I will let him out long enough to not tell your parents," Sirius growled.

Ren sighed, sending Harry a cheeky grin, before walking out. Sirius rolled his eyes before frowning darkly at Harry. Harry didn't even react, simply gaped at him, but inside fear was clutching his heart. The anger he had always feared about Sirius was very present on the man's face, directed towards Harry.

"Do you think this is some sick joke?" Harry asked softly, dangerously, eyes darkening considerably.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to regain control, feeling the flashbacks tugging at his mind, hearing the sound of curses, the sound of Bellatrix's sick, cruel laughter. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands, using that to anchor him, using the pain to bring him back to reality.

Finally back in control, he looked up at his Godfather's counterpart, eyes blazing.

"Do _you_ think this is a joke? The fact that you attacked Aurors? Killed Tom?" Sirius asked, his own eyes flashing angrily. Harry flinched fearfully. He had to remind himself that Sirius was _not_ his uncle, but it was hard. He couldn't get the image of a fist flying towards his face out of his mind. But Sirius wasn't an abuser, and he didn't even know Harry. Harry was fine. He brushed a hand through his hair, and he felt Sirius' eyes land on his scar. Scowling, Harry covered it over, and he sighed heavily.

"I didn't kill Tom," Harry murmured, and Sirius raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

"You were the only one there," Sirius said firmly, and Harry held his gaze, grey meeting emerald green. Harry was surprised when he saw a little shock and pain in them, but Sirius' eyes hardened quickly.

"No, there was a Death Eater there, before the Aurors arrived." Sirius leaned back in his chair.

"Why didn't the Death Eater kill you?" He asked. Harry shrugged, not wanting to answer that.

"I don't know, sir." Sirius studied him, and they were silent for a while, enough for Harry to fidget uncomfortably.

"Are you a Death Eater?" Sirius asked firmly, and Harry shook his head. "Let me see your arms."

Harry hesitated, which must have been too long for Sirius because the man grabbed Harry's arms none too gently, and Harry inhaled sharply, wincing when Sirius pressed his wand against his forearm.

"See? I'm not a Death Eater," Harry said, gasping from the pain. Sirius studied him carefully.

"What's your name?" Sirius asked, and Harry continued to glare, but Sirius only leaned back on his heels, still smirking challengingly. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Harry was surprised.

"A muggle saying?" He blurted out, and his Godfather's counterpart narrowed his eyes.

"My friend's muggleborn." Of course she was. "Now, are you going to answer my question?"

"Nothing's wrong, and no, there is no cat on my tongue that I know of," Harry answered cheekily.

"Don't be smart, boy," Sirius snarled, slamming his hands down on the table. Harry flinched violently, but maintained eye contact with his Godfather's completely opposite counterpart. Sirius took a deep breath, looking slightly guilty, but it was gone quickly. "Now, who're you?" Sirius asked again, dangerously, coldly, and Harry felt his heart clench. Harry sighed, still looking down at his hands submissively.

"Evan, sir," He said, tone hinting he wasn't going to elaborate. Either Sirius didn't hear it or he ignored it.

"Evan what?"

"Evan Jameson," He said, staring at Sirius firmly. His godfather's counterpart suspected nothing.

"Sirius," A man said, entering the room, followed by a red head. Sirius looked over, smiling when he saw who it was. "They're all here now. Bring him out, and continue there." Sirius nodded.

"Okay, sure," He said, weirdly calm. The girl from before came in then, sauntering in really, all arrogance and mischievousness.

"I heard you're going to question him with witnesses," She asked, eyes alight with eagerness. "Can I come?"

"First of all," The red head said, stepping in front of the girl. "I don't know how you heard of that, second; I told you to stay with your sister." The girl smirked at Harry, before sighing contritely. Harry didn't find it hard to see that it was a load of bullshit.

"Oh, I'm sorry mother. I really didn't mean to." The girl fluttered her eyelashes. "I just figured I would explore, I didn't think being on my own would be that bad, since you know, I'm 15."

"Cut it out, Ren," His father said sternly. "You're too young. Besides, this is a private case, and is confidential." Ren sighed heavily.

"Alright fine," She drawled. "I thought you loved me, but I guess not." The man rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here, you little bugger," The girl's father scolded, shoving her out the door.

"So overdramatic," The girl's mother grumbled, and her husband laughed. Harry felt sick.

As all of that happened, Harry's insides increasingly tightened until he could barely breathe. But, as they were too distracted by their actual child in this world, Harry was able to rein it in and put up his emotional wall.

The distraction helped prevent him from falling into a flashback. Not that he needed the wall. That trauma had been so long ago that he had had enough time to be quite far in his work of cutting at the emotional ties. And he had been doing that long enough that he wasn't sucked into the memories anymore.

When his pseudo-parents and pseudo-godfather turned back to face him, Harry had an expression of calm, serenity, even though his whole body was on high alert, tensing and relaxing to prepare for fight or flight, and eyes drinking in every detail of his surroundings.

Harry studied his father's counterpart. He had Harry's thin face, the same unruly, dark hair, same mouth, eyebrows, but his nose was a little larger. The similarities were a little bit diminished, as this James was older than his father, but they were still there. Harry saw himself in the man before him, the only difference, Harry's eyes weren't hazel. They were instead a brilliant emerald green.

The Aurors were noticing all of it, his discomfort, fear, and pain, Harry noted. The red haired woman narrowed her eyes, but Harry recognized some pain in her emerald eyes.

"Let's go, kid," James said gruffly, unbinding his legs and leading him out to the court room. Harry steeled himself for what was beyond those doors, people he was going to see. A memory tried to force its way into his mind, but he cut it off before he could be sucked into a flashback and he focused on the present.

Conversation puttered out, and an array of eyes flitted up to Harry, much to his chagrin. Harry swallowed convulsively, eyes wide. There weren't a lot of people, as it wasn't a public court case. Harry was thankful for that, as he didn't see any unfamiliar faces or any Death Eaters.

He recognized everyone who was there, though. Quite well, much to his sorrow. He saw Alice and Frank Longbottom, to Harry's surprise, and Snape and Malfoy. And Remus, which made his heart clench painfully. He could barely fight the protests in his heart, wanting him to reveal everything, to run up to them and apologize. Well, except for Malfoy. He quite wanted curse him but he had learned his lesson, and kept his temper in check. Heaven forbid he was arrested for murder. Besides, he didn't have a wand.

But the others, he felt immense guilt. He shoved the feeling down. These weren't his people. These people didn't know him, and they didn't trust him. The only thing not causing unwelcome emotions and memories to surge forward inside of him was the floor and Harry stared at the ground so he wasn't tempted to break down.

Lily, James and Sirius stood in front of him, since he assumed they were going to be the ones interrogating him. Harry looked away quickly, fidgeting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze of the Aurors.

"I'm sorry about our kid's…ah…disruption," Lily said with practiced politeness. Harry gave her a formal smile, shrugging his shoulders. "But we do need to know who you are." Harry was silent.

"Do you know what you're going to be charged with?" James asked in an authoritative and slightly dangerous voice. Harry trembled at the sound of James' voice, but quickly controlled himself. _Not your James. Your James is 6 meters below the ground._ Harry didn't crack, meeting the man's gaze. James seemed to get angrier. "Aggravated assault, and until you speak, murder." Harry looked away.

"I didn't kill Tom, I told him that," Harry said bitingly. "A Death Eater killed him." James' mouth formed something that wasn't a smile, but also wasn't a frown, and Harry felt instantly threatened, which, he supposed, was the way the man wanted him to feel. He composed himself, looking James in the eye.

It was an odd feeling that seeing his father's doppelgänger left in Harry. He always admired his father even when he learned how cruel he was in his Hogwarts years. This James seemed to have matured in ways Harry's father wasn't able to in Harry's world, and he was struck by how much this James was not Harry's. And how little Harry was James'.

The man in front of him was not his father, and neither was Lily his mother.

Harry shut it down, the hurt and longing. He knew that all there was waiting for him in regards to the Potter's here was rejection and anger. Heck, James, Lily and Sirius were here interrogating him, obviously angry. He knew more was sure to come his way once his parents' counterparts learned about him, and he didn't intend on getting hurt from that. What better way to ensure survival than to keep them at arm's length in the first place?

"Albus," He heard James greet, and Harry looked up, eyes widening when they landed on his long dead Headmaster's counterpart. The man's eyes were twinkling, watching Harry carefully.

"You've caused quite the trouble," Dumbledore noted, smiling softly. "And you can fight quite well! How old are you anyways? We assumed you were mid-teens, but you obviously seem older." Harry was taken aback, but swallowed convulsively, slightly distrustful of the man in front of him.

"18, sir," Harry said, glancing down at his hands. He could feel Dumbledore's eyes on him.

"What's on your forehead?" Dumbledore asked casually, and Harry tensed when he saw the twinkle in his old Professor's eyes. He knew that look, and knew Dumbledore was going to try and coerce something out of him without giving Harry anything in return. Harry glared.

"I got it when I was a baby," He said, staring at his professor's counterpart distrustfully. Dumbledore looked a little crestfallen at his expression.

"It's a curse scar," Dumbledore fretted. Harry shrugged. "How'd you get it?" Harry simply stared back at the old man, catching his eye.

That was his first mistake.

He felt a pressure against his Occlumency walls, and Harry strengthened them immediately, forcing the man out of his mind with righteous anger, things shaking from his accidental magic.

Harry clenched his fists, stopping the magic, not understanding how this made him react worse than finding out that these people, the ones that looked like his loved ones, were the ones arresting him. His heart panged when he realized that it was the fact that he couldn't even trust these adults to be honest and true in their actions. He thought they weren't going to try and manipulate him.

It hurt to see he was wrong.

"Not many people like getting their minds read without permission, professor," Harry said, dangerously calm with the warning. The three Aurors around him, whose wands were at him the moment his magic got out of control, were still tense, still ready. Dumbledore had the decency to look ashamed and waved off his comrades.

"It's alright," Dumbledore said wearily and Harry almost felt some sympathy. Almost being the key word. Dumbledore turned to Harry. "I'm sorry…"

"Evan Jameson," He replied coolly. Lily inhaled sharply, and James reached over to squeeze her arm gently. Lily leaned into his touch, and Harry watched them warily, heart racing. _Not his parents. His parents were dead. And from Lily's reaction, so was his counterpart. They weren't sad for you, they weren't missing you_. He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to remember that he was in a different world.

"Evan?" Dumbledore asked in amusement. Harry watched him warily.

"It's a pretty common name," Harry said guardedly. Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes it is," He agreed. "Now, we have to ask. Did you murder Tom?" Harry felt his anger flare.

"No, I already told them." He turned his piercing glare on the three Aurors. "A Death Eater did it." His magic flared up and he sighed when he saw the three Aurors tense again.

"We don't want to attack, kid, but we will if you continue like this," Sirius warned coldly, and Harry's heart clenched, but that only served to fuel his anger. "Control it, or we might think you're serving the Dark Lord."

"Do you have any idea what I've been through because of Voldemort?!" Harry finally lost it. People winced. "I would never join him, not after-" Harry broke off, not wanting to go down memory lane. Slightly embarrassed from his outburst, he breathed in heavily, building a wall, forcing his emotions away. Once he knew he was okay, he opened his eyes, glancing around the room heatedly.

James was leaning towards him, standing in front of Lily who was rolling her eyes.

"Watch it," James growled, eyes threatening, wand right in front of Harry's chest. Harry glanced down at it, before looking back up at James fearfully. "If you want this to go in your favour, you will _not_ react like that."

"I'm telling the truth, sir." Harry stared at James almost pleadingly. He turned to Dumbledore. "You have a pensieve, I'll take a memory of that night." Dumbledore looked shocked, but he quickly recovered.

"Or we can just use Veritaserum," Sirius smiled threateningly. Harry tensed. He hated Veritaserum. Luckily Remus taught him, and Hermione how to fight it off a bit.

"Fine, and then you'll see I _am_ telling the truth," Harry challenged, and Sirius glared at him as the potion flew into his hands, having accio-ed it to come to him. He passed it over to Harry, who took it confidently, drinking the potion immediately.

Harry slumped forward a bit, eyes glazing over, and, even though it was a struggle, let the potion take his mind. The potion took effect and he could feel his heart rate slow down, calming him and making him complacent.

"Where were you the night of December 1st?" James asked.

"In Diagon Alley," Harry replied instantly.

"Why were you there?"

"I needed somewhere to spend the night." Harry didn't want to give anything too important away, so he kept it simple. James ran his hand through his hair.

"Why did you attack Tom?" He asked. Harry let the Veritaserum overcome him.

"I didn't, sir. I went into the Leaky Cauldron to hide from the Aurors when Tom used expelliarmus on me. He was planning to give me to the Aurors. But when he went to call out, a Death Eater appeared from behind the bar and killed Tom. He left me because he just assumed I was a recruit. But he left before the Aurors came."

"Who was the Death Eater?"

"Avery." There was a murmur through the crowd. James silenced them. "There were others too. Rowle, Yaxley, Travers, Selwyn, the Carrow's, Bellatrix-" More murmurs. "-Lestrange, Augustus Rookwood, and Antonin Dolohov." He was about to ask one more question when Harry slumped forward, as he was dragged out of the effects of the Veritaserum.

"We know you didn't kill Tom now," Sirius started, taking over for James. "But you did attack 10 Aurors, causing injuries." Harry clenched his jaw. "Can you tell us why?" Harry was silent. "Why did you attack Lucius?"

Harry froze, feeling the memories and emotional scars tugging on his mind, trying to take over. He inhaled sharply, digging his nails into the palms of his hands, breathing raggedly.

"I saw the cloak, thought he was a Death Eater."

Harry wasn't looking at them, eyes glazed. He knew he shouldn't let the memories grip him like they did, but he couldn't ignore the screams of pain, the taunting of the blonde haired man as he stood beside the still, cold body of his girlfriend and guardian.

He hunched his back, shaking slightly as he was sucked into a different place, a place within himself, where his loved ones were dead, because of him.

"Hey," A voice he recognized as belonging to James said. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Harry flinched violently, tensing at the touch. The hand was removed immediately. "Are you here?"

But Harry was too far gone.

* * *

 **James' POV**

"Hey, kid, are you still here?" James repeated softly, placing a light hand on the teenager's shoulder. The guy – Evan Jameson, not Potter, which James couldn't decide whether that made him happy or sad – blinked rapidly, before turning his burning gaze on James. James' heart clenched when his gaze connected with the boy's green eyes, so much like Lily's, even brighter green, yet so much darker, more haunted with an almost desperate loneliness in them. James fidgeted slightly, disturbed, but he controlled himself.

He didn't want to care for the boy. He really didn't. But who was he kidding? He wasn't a killer, and the reasons for attacking them seemed more and more like self-defence. He was feeling for the boy. James wanted to squash it, to stop the feeling before it could consume him, but the goddamned green eyes wouldn't let him. His fatherly instincts he had for his first son, that never got to grow, to strengthen, were waking up now at the sight of this teenager, that reminded him so much of himself and Lily. But that was where the similarities ended. This man was _not_ his son. He didn't even know this man, for crying out loud!

It was so much easier when the teenager was unconscious, unable to talk or express himself. It was easier to pretend he wasn't real. But now, well, he was very much _real_ , and James could see so much of himself in this young man. Evan, not Harry. Even so, he seemed more haunted and damaged than what James expected an 18 year old to be.

What happened to this kid?

"Evan, who're your parents?" Sirius asked, but the kid was silent, staring up at Sirius distrustfully. Sirius faltered a bit, and James knew he was shocked at how guarded the teenager was towards him. James was shocked as well. He was barely an adult, why was he so afraid of everyone? "We're not going to arrest you, kid. You're just going to have to pay a fine." Evan glanced down at the ground.

"I don't have parents," The man said coldly, emotionlessly. "They died when I was a baby. I live with my aunt and uncle." James' gut clenched.

"Well, can we contact them?" Lily asked softly, and Evan sent her a withering stare.

"No," He said simply. Lily frowned.

"Why not?"

"They're muggles," Evan stated. James frowned.

"And that means they won't help you?" James asked, and the boy tensed, shaking his head mutely. James' heart went out to the kid. Before he knew it, he patted the boy's shoulder comfortingly, and watching in horror as Evan tensed and flinched away from James' touch. James removed his hand quickly, before clearing his throat.

"Let it go," Evan growled, looking away from everyone. James felt his anger spike.

"You're being charged with assault and your punishment is quite light," James said, voice hard. "Do you want to make it worse?" James watched Evan stiffen, and he saw as Evan's eyes landed on James' clenched fists, before making eye contact with James defiantly. James froze, warning bells going off inside his head.

"No, sir," Evan said acidly, and James was slightly stunned as he watched the boy. "But technically, I _am_ a legal adult, and can handle this on my own." James simply watched the boy.

"Evan, you were arrested. Despite what age you are, I bet your guardians want to know," James murmured.

"It was a mistake." Evan said randomly, looking away from everyone. "Well, no, not the first time." He sighed. "I had just arrived in Hogsmeade, after I arrived, when I ran into L-Lucius-" James was shocked at his stutter, and he wondered if the others had noticed it as well. "-and well, I was surprised, is all." James was silent, studying the boy. Evan laughed darkly. "I can't say I was in the best frame of mind after the fight, since I had quite a lot of flashbacks, paired with seeing another person I thought was _dead_." Evan clenched his fists, looking down at his hands. "I got in trouble after that, and, well, you lot came after me."

"So you attacked us," Sirius said coldly, and Evan tensed, looking up at him.

"It was self-defence!" Evan bristled. "It's not my fault you made assumptions!" James frowned.

"Are you accusing us?" He asked, walking over to the man. Evan tensed visibly, eyes wide with fear, and James faltered, surprised at the defensive reaction, which he realized, when Evan hardened almost immediately after, was a subconscious reaction. Evan instinctively reacted that way. More warning bells went off. James could see from the other's worried expressions, they were picking up on Evan's reactions as well.

"No sir." Evan was defiant still, but more of a weary defiance, like he was done with fighting whatever bad thing he thought was going to happen to him. James noticed another reaction that Evan no doubt had no control over. Despite the confident tone, he was tense and afraid, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

"Evan, who are you?" James asked quietly, but Evan wasn't looking at him. "You've no records, you don't exist. Why is that?" Evan wasn't responding, looking straight ahead at nothing in particular with a blank expression on his face. "We're not going to hurt you, Evan; we just want you to explain."

"Do you promise?" Evan blurted out, and blushed when he seemed to realize what he said.

"What do you mean?" James eyebrows rose. Evan stilled immediately, putting his mask back up.

"Never mind," Evan murmured, glancing up at James jadedly.

"Will you tell us?" James asked as gently and as kindly as he could muster. It wasn't hard. Even if the boy wasn't related to him after all– well, he looked like him it was hard to believe he wasn't a Potter – James would have cared a bit for the boy. Evan seemed troubled; way more than what was healthy. No 18 year old should have been that wary of adults. Evan sighed, looking at him and James felt a spike of excitement. Maybe they were finally going to get some answers. Answers about why he looked so haunted, why he seemed so scared of the adults here, and why he looked so much like James, with Lily's eyes.


	6. Tell Me It Ain't No Thing

**_Chapter Six: Tell Me It Ain't No Thing_**

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

\- T.S. Elliot

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry gulped, and quickly looked away, unable to maintain eye contact for long. He shifted – his injuries were killing him, leaving him slightly dazed and out of it – but James stood in front of him so he couldn't look anywhere but him, and Harry huffed, looking up at him.

"I'm not from here," Harry said simply.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We gathered that." Sirius grinned derisively, and Harry rolled his eyes back at him.

James glared at his friend. "Sirius, shut up." James then turned to Harry, gaze softening. "What do you mean, not from here?" Harry paused, watching the room, and was met back with suspicious, yet curious looks.

So Harry continued. "We're from an alternate universe."

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Before anyone could interrupt, Dumbledore spoke.

"I thought that was impossible?" He asked, and Harry gathered himself, clearing his throat. Harry knew he had to pull his emotionally traumatized self together if he wanted to convince these people he wasn't dangerous.

"It's quite possible, Dumbledore, but not using light magic." Harry sighed. "In my world, my friends and I were in Grimmauld place, clearing out the dark objects, when a silver powder and a black liquid combined with fire, and, well, a black fog filled the room and we were sent here."

Dumbledore looked amused. "You were playing around with dark objects?" He asked, eyes twinkling.

Harry snorted. "More like destroying them. My friends and I didn't want to keep the objects, and, well, we needed to do _something_ to get rid of all the pent up emotions. We have no one to talk to, so destroying things is our go to way of coping with the grief." He laughed. No one else seemed to find that funny. They had looks of horror on their faces, and Harry sighed. "Our world's vastly different from yours."

Dumbledore looked intrigued, as did the others. "What's different?" He asked gently.

Harry was silent, closing himself off again. "People," He said vaguely. "I reacted badly, seeing people I thought were dead, and seeing people that in my world were Death Eaters. We've lost a lot, my friends and I." Because of him, but he didn't say that. If he did, he'd have to explain why, and he didn't think his friends would agree. "Your daughter, she doesn't even exist, and, well, there's me." Harry glared warningly at the others when he saw the expressions on their faces. He wasn't going to elaborate, and from the way the Aurors fidgeted under his gaze, Harry knew they saw that. He turned back to Dumbledore, eyes cold. Harry glanced over at Dumbledore, who looked thoughtful. "Was there a prophecy made about 18 or 19 years ago?" Harry asked confidently.

Dumbledore nodded, eyeing him carefully. "Do you know it?" He asked, and Harry nodded slowly.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches," Harry recited, "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies," Lily's head whipped up, and she looked over at Harry, eyes dark. The intensity shocked him, and he looked away quickly. "What did he do over here?" Harry whispered, and he didn't need to elaborate. He could see when Lily figured out what he was asking and he flinched at James glare as he comforted his wife.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" James asked accusingly, and Harry bit his lip, thinking.

"I mean, I don't know if everyone knows here," Harry started, and James raised an eyebrow. He halted, deciding just to say it. "I know you lot," He nodded towards James, Lily, Alice and Frank. "We're not only Aurors, but a part of the Order of the Phoenix-" Murmurs through the crowd, "-tasked with fighting Voldemort, which was why you were targeted by the prophecy." Harry paused, but continued. "Sybil Trelawney recited the prophecy when she was being interviewed by Dumbledore for the position at Hogwarts, and a Death Eater overheard, reporting back to Voldemort." His eyes landed on James and Lily and he bit his lip. "Are you friends with a man named Peter Pettigrew?" Harry felt the change in atmosphere, the tension and anger, so he hastily moved on. "I guess that's a no then." Harry hesitated, studying them, and they all looked shocked, pale. It was silent.

"We knew he was going to go after our son, Harry, even before he was born," James finally said, not looking at him. "He was born premature, because, we learned later on, Peter was poisoning our water supply, using a poison that only affects unborn babies. He was born mid-May, which didn't fit the prophecy but because of Peter's interference, he died at a month and a half, the end of July." James was shaking.

"I'm so sorry," Harry whispered. "What happened after?" Harry dared to ask.

Lily answered, "We lived. We lived because we couldn't give up, even when we were in pain. Giving up meant that Voldemort won, and we couldn't let that happen. And then three years later, I was pregnant. We had Calla and Ren." She smiled softly. "They're twins." Her smile fell as quickly as it came.

Harry looked away. "What happened to the prophecy?" James clenched his jaw.

"Well, it no longer affected us," He said snidely, and Harry winced.

Alice looked up then. "But it did affect us. On Halloween of 1981, Voldemort attacked our home. We were at an Order meeting, and Neville was with Frank's mother. Voldemort attacked, and she sacrificed herself for him, evoking an ancient magic and killing Voldemort." Alice smiled bitterly. "Neville became known as the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry didn't know how to respond to that, but he didn't need to, as Alice continued speaking. "Four years later, Bellatrix, the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. broke in and killed Neville and tortured us. We were saved by the other Aurors and the Order members, but Neville had died."

"I-I'm sorry, about Neville," Harry choked out, and Alice nodded while Frank smiled tenderly.

"Thank you, Evan," Frank whispered, before looking over at Alice.

"What did you do?"

"We had our son, Theodore, and I was pregnant with our daughter, Olivia," Alice said, smiling painfully. Harry swallowed thickly, nodding, before looking back at Sirius.

"Did you go to Azkaban over here as well?" Harry asked softly, and he saw Sirius tense. Harry froze, feeling the sudden annoying flash of fear, but Sirius didn't strike so Harry destroyed the feeling.

"No," Sirius said and turned his pained eyes on Harry, who simply stared back passively. "I went to Azkaban in your world?" Harry nodded. "Why did I go to Azkaban?"

"Pettigrew," Harry said, not wanting to answer.

"What happened over in your world with the prophecy? From what you said, I assume it happened differently," Dumbledore said and Harry glanced around the room, before nodding.

"Yes, yes it did." Harry moved on, not wanting to reveal anything else. "So the prophecy, was it never fulfilled?" Harry watched the headmaster carefully.

Dumbledore shook his head. "He stopped it from happening," Dumbledore's eyes weren't twinkling. Harry glanced over at the Longbottom's and Potter's. They seemed tense. Harry understood; it must be hard talking about the prophecy that killed their children.

Harry frowned. "But you can't stop prophecies. They're fated to happen," Harry would know. Hermione, Ron and he researched prophecies for weeks when they learned of his, trying to find a way out.

It was Dumbledore's turn to frown. "Of course they're not, my boy."

"It's like time travel, Professor. Some events are just unchangeable, even if it takes longer to get there." Harry dreaded saying it out loud, like keeping it a secret would stop it from being true. But Harry knew what the pain in his scar meant, and what it meant for him. Anger made his muscles quiver. He had fulfilled Sybil Trelawney's prophecy in his world, and now he had to do it here too?

But he had no choice, much like he had no choice in his world.

"You really think that?" Dumbledore asked calmly, and Harry nodded, not meeting the man's eyes.

"Yes," Harry answered confidently. He knew it was true because he was their missing piece.

And he knew he'd have to go through it all again. Because the horcrux was back, and he had a feeling that the only way he'd get home was by getting rid of this world's Voldemort. That would just be his luck.

"Who are you in this world?" Dumbledore asked, and Harry watched the old man carefully. A flash of fear coursed through him, and he was almost certain Dumbledore knew who he was.

He glanced around at the others, and from the looks he was receiving from James, Lily, Sirius and Remus, he was relieved to see that they didn't know. The looks they were sending him made his heart clench. _Not his Sirius, not his Remus, not his parents_. Harry caught James' eye, and he shivered, with what, he didn't know. James' eyes were burning with something, and Harry couldn't figure out if it was something akin to love, anger or hate. It kind of hurt, but he wasn't their son and Harry was fine with that. He was used to being alone.

"Well, I don't exist in this world," He said easily, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "But I know you already know that, Professor. You know everything." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Do I?" He asked, and Harry caught the man's eye, though kept in mind to keep his Occlumency shields up.

"Yes." Harry smiled cheekily. "You always had that look when you knew more than you were letting on. It was actually quite annoying, really," Harry's smile turned pensive. Dumbledore sent him a sympathetic smile.

"'Was'?" He asked, and the smile left Harry's face completely this time, turning somber, his face colder.

"I told you. My world is a lot different from yours," Harry gritted out, looking away.

Dumbledore smiled softly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Harry sent him a calculating stare. "No, thank you," Harry said in a clipped tone.

"Were we close?" Dumbledore studied the boy, and Harry hesitated, biting his lip.

"Yes," He answered, but trailed off, and he knew it caught Dumbledore's attention.

"But?"

 _But you never told me the truth and only told me what I needed to know until after it already caused problems. But you didn't fight for my Godfather because you couldn't see past his last name so you didn't demand a fair trial. But you left me with relatives that hated magic, then ignored my pleas for help and let me live eleven years as a freak, with no one there for me. But you let me to feel okay with being alone and I learned not to trust the adults in my life, as they continuously failed me. But you didn't care about my happiness, since you thought it was a necessary sacrifice for grooming me into the Savior, and no happiness meant pain, which was okay, since pain created scars, and scars built soldiers. But you let me suffer so when you came along with the power to make me safe, you used it to use me. But in the end I was just your chess piece in a game I'm still playing._

Harry shrugged, saying none of what he was thinking, though he was reeling inside.

"I don't think I should tell you what happened in my world. It would just create some problems that don't need to exist, as the events I have been through won't happen in your world," Harry said, tone hinting that he didn't want to continue. Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "Now, what do I have to do to make up for my…crimes?"

Dumbledore studied him carefully, before glancing over at James, Sirius and Lily. Harry watched them as well, and his eyes connected with Lily's. Harry flinched slightly, before looking away.

"If you plead not guilty due to insanity, we can let you off," Lily said, professionally cold. Harry was stunned, shocked that these strangers would do that.

"O-Okay," Harry whispered. Lily nodded briskly, bringing out a piece of paper and placing it down in front of Harry. He took the quill presented to him, and Harry signed the agreement, before handing it back to Lily.

* * *

 **Lily's POV**

Lily took the parchment back from the boy, and she couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive. What now? What was the boy going to do? Lily shook her head. She wasn't going to worry about the boy. He might have looked like he could be part of her family, her son even, but he wasn't her son. He wasn't even a Potter.

Her son had died because she had unknowingly and unwillingly forced poison into him.

"You're a free man," James said softly, but Evan didn't smile, continuing to sit there. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Evan shook his head, looking away from James. "Just a little sore."

James narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

But before anything could happen, the doors of the courtroom slammed open.

"Hey!" A woman's voice called out. "You're not allowed in there! Security!" The woman ran off but the two young witches and one wizard standing there continued into the room confidently.

Lily looked over at Evan, but the boy was simply sitting there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock at the bushy haired woman, the dark haired man that looked oddly familiar and the eccentric blonde haired girl.

"Hermione?" Evan asked, and Lily's eyes widened in shock. Evan knew these witches and wizard? Lily glanced over at the other Aurors, but they seemed frozen as well. She turned his gaze on Albus, and the old wizard shook his head, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Lily hesitated; worried about these strange teenagers being here when her children were in the same building, but she trusted the old professor and Lily glanced at the other Aurors, shaking her head.

"What are you-" Evan started again, but was cut off with a glare from the bushy haired woman, who was standing in front of him, hands on her hips, looking at him angrily.

"H-"

"Wait," Harry interrupted pleadingly, "It's Code Blue Box so I followed protocol 42." She silenced immediately. Lily's eyebrows rose higher, if that was possible, and she could sense the other people's discomfort in the room. But no one did anything when Albus held his hand up in warning. Evan glanced quickly at them, before turning back to his raging friend. She nodded, and her gaze went from James, to Lily, Remus and fell last on Sirius.

"Evan…" Her gaze softened.

"It's fine, Hermione," Evan whispered, and looked around the room, watching Lily apathetically when Lily caught his eye. Hermione looked around as well; an expression of shock on her face, and Lily noticed Evan tense when the bushy haired witch made eye contact with Lucius.

Then everything seemed to happen at once.

Hermione darkened and the air was charged with magical energy, making Lily's hair stand on end and her pulse quicken. Hermione snarled angrily. "Cru-"

"No!" Evan cried out, and Lily flinched at the unadulterated worry and fear that laced itself around his voice, and written all over his face. Evan's eyes looked around the room, fearfully watching them, and Lily felt a stab of pain in her heart, which shocked her.

But what shocked her even more was when using pure, wandless magic, Evan managed to summon Hermione's wand to him before tying her down with invisible ropes.

The other boy turned to them, eyes worried. "Please, she won't hurt you; she just needs to talk to H-Evan, that's all. We won't hurt you," He said. Dumbledore studied the boy in front of them.

"You're not from here either?" Dumbledore asked, eyes thoughtful as he studied the child. The dark haired boy clenched his jaw, exuding confidence, and he shook his head.

"No," He said, voice strong, and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "But we're here to help."

"Why would you help us?" Dumbledore asked carefully.

The young man grinned. "It's our only way home."

"Your only way home?" Dumbledore clasped his hands together, and the light haired girl smiled.

"We can't leave yet," The blonde haired witch said nonchalantly. "We can't come home until Evan has done what he must to defeat Voldemort for you." The crowd seemed to wince, and Lily was slightly shocked and appalled that these children, Evan and this innocent looking girl, could say Voldemort's name so brazenly. Even some grown wizards and witches had trouble with that, yet these 18 year old teenagers were having no trouble.

But of course, Lily had to remember, they had seen more than anyone here.

Still, even 18 year olds shouldn't have had to worry about defeating Voldemort. And according to Evan, a lot had happened to him, as far back in his past to when he was merely a child. It frightened Lily.

Evan looked at the blonde haired girl sharply when she said this, and halted his conversation with the seething Hermione. The light haired girl walked over to him, patting his hand in a reassuring gesture, whispering in his ear. They pulled apart and Evan caught her eye, nodding softly, resolutely.

"Why should we trust you?" Dumbledore asked calmly, voicing everyone's concerns.

The dark haired wizard smiled amusedly, walking over to Dumbledore, and the old professor just stood there calmly as the boy whispered into his ear. Dumbledore paled, before glancing over at Evan, the bushy haired witch and the blonde haired witch before turning back to the Aurors.

"They're telling the truth," Dumbledore said, and before anyone could react, the old wizard had the security gone. Lily watched the group of children.

Evan studied the crowd; eyes hard and powerful, Hermione was shaking, eyes glazed in grief, and the dark haired wizard watched the crowd with respect and self-assurance, exuding loyalty for his friends. But the blonde haired witch looked on with an odd sort of childish curiosity.

"Whatever Evan did," The blonde haired witch began, "He didn't mean to. Neither did 'Mione. Well, she did, but it was only because her special star had gone out and turned into a black hole. Evan's very much Abel and Hermione's poor Antigone. So Evan and Hermione's brains are filled with dark, unfortunately." The dark haired wizard winced, before placing a hand on the girl's small shoulder.

"What Luna's trying to say is that they've suffered through a lot, and it hasn't left them in the best frame of mind," The boy said quickly, glancing over at the blonde haired witch, Luna. Lily was watching Evan and he looked stable. Hermione was the one close to breaking down.

"What about you two?" Lily asked. Luna caught Lily's eye, before glancing at Evan and Hermione, and then seemed to communicate something with the dark haired wizard, because he sighed, and she smiled at them, a thoughtfully wistful look on her face.

"Not nearly as much as them, but we've also seen our fair share of horrors," The dark haired wizard said wearily. "Of course, that doesn't excuse them, and we're sorry," He did seem genuine. "Dumbledore, I was wondering if you could cast a silencing charm around us. Hermione needs to talk privately with Evan or she's going to explode." Dumbledore studied the dark haired boy that was eerily familiar, carefully.

"What is your name, my boy?" Dumbledore asked. The boy hesitated and glanced over at Evan, who nodded, nearly imperceptibly.

"Neville."

Dumbledore cast the charm.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

"Silencing charm, no one can hear us," Neville explained. "Hermione needs to rant or she's going to explode." Hermione glared at him, but he ignored her. "I was expecting it, surprised it took her this long." Harry sighed but undid the invisible ropes around his seething friend. Hermione turned, glaring at Harry.

"What the hell?! Do you know who he is?!" She shouted. Harry glared.

"Of course I do, Hermione! Do you think I'd ever forget him?" He asked quietly.

"Then why aren't you doing anything?!" She glared angrily at him. But he could see her shaking, and he knew her anger was to cover her pain, really. Harry winced, feeling tears well up in his eyes as well.

"He's an Auror, he's a good guy," Harry promised, and he could see her shaking her head.

"No," She whispered, falling down to her knees with her face in her hands. "No, he isn't."

Harry nodded. "He is though," He went to reach out, but froze, sighing instead as he ran his hand down his face. "He's fighting against Voldemort, 'Mione. He's a good guy."

"Then why wasn't he a good guy in ours!?" She finally exploded. "Why was he bad!? What went wrong in our world to make him like that!?" Harry wondered too.

And then he finally reached down to Hermione, pulling her into his arms. She was shaking heavily, leaning into him for support. His eyes connected with Hermione's, and he was slightly shocked, but not surprised, at the amount of pain in her eyes. "I don't know what's different here, 'Mione. It just is." Harry looked out at the crowd. "And since I have to help them defeat Voldemort and he's an Auror, I'm going to have to work with him." Harry took her chin gently. "I'm sorry, 'Mione, I know it hurts, but we're going to see a lot of people that're going to make us hurt." She whimpered softly. "It wasn't him. These aren't our people. Not our Dumbledore or our Remus or Neville's parents. These are caricatures of our loved ones, and our enemies. We have to let that go."

Harry could see Neville's shoulders shaking, and no doubt it was hard for him to see his parents sitting there, perfectly healthy with no idea that he was their son. But then again, they weren't really his parents, just the same for Harry. Either way, Neville still looked pale, and Luna was patting his shoulder comfortingly. He seemed to lean into the touch, and Harry smiled sadly, reaching out to squeeze his hand. Neville smiled softly.

Hermione wasn't satisfied though. "It doesn't matter, Harry!" Hermione was shaking. "I still have to see something that could have been! The Lucius from our world could have been good, and Ron wouldn't have been tortured! Ginny wouldn't have died!" Hermione sunk to her knees. "And now we know that they died because of stupid fucking coincidences. Changes that made someone not an evil fucking bastard who tortured and killed teenagers because he was a bigoted racist!" She was hysterical, but then instantly darkened, grief radiating off her, so Harry pulled her back into a hug. "We missed his proper funeral, Harry. It was supposed to be the day after we were at Grimmauld, but we're here instead. And who knows if we missed it. We might never get back, and I'll never get to say goodbye." Hermione slammed her hands on the table, as if it being there was annoying evidence that they weren't home. "We missed it. And we might have missed our only chance to say goodbye."

"I know, 'Mione," Harry whispered, and her accidental magic broke the table in half.

"No, you don't, Harry!" She screeched. "You don't know! I was there with him, Harry, I was there when she tortured him, and he was there when she tortured me!" Hermione spun around to glare at Lucius. Thank god the crowd couldn't hear them. "And _he_ was there, watching it all." Hermione clenched her hands into fists, looking ready to explode. "We couldn't even comfort each other because she had strung us up and barely left us conscious when she was done with us!" Hermione choked.

"And then-And then she hurt him so he'd die slowly, and made me watch it all, cursed me to watch him as he died slowly," Hermione whispered, and she was still, silent, staring at the wall. "But she never let him die and one day, she gave me a gun, told me that I could end it, make his suffering stop. I didn't want to, but she said she'd make it worse." Hermione turned to Harry then, eyes so pained Harry had to look away.

"And she did. She made it so much worse," Hermione choked as she cried, silently, but somehow even more grief-ridden than when she was screaming. "So I did shoot him, and before I did, he thanked me. He actually _thanked_ me! And he told me he loved me. I was too-too sad and guilty for what I was about to do, I didn't say goodbye. I didn't even say 'I love you' back." She sunk down to her knees. "And then she left him hanging there, left him there beside me, letting him rot." Harry walked towards her, pulling her into his arms.

"He knows you love him. He knew that you did what you did because you loved him so much," He whispered. Hermione looked up at him, eyes dark.

"You're not supposed to kill the ones you love," She said harshly. Harry cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"You're not supposed to let the ones you love suffer." He murmured soothingly and hugged her close. "You did the right thing, given the circumstances. And from what you said, I think he wanted you to kill him, he wanted mercy and you gave it to him. It had to be you."

"I killed someone, Harry," Hermione whispered, and Harry looked at his friend firmly.

"You killed your torturer," Harry corrected. "Bellatrix Lestrange ruined so many people's lives. And I killed someone too." Hermione shook her head.

"I murdered Ron, Harry! You killed Lucius, and I killed Bellatrix, but you never killed a loved one. I did! How can you sit here and forgive me?" She asked hysterically. Harry pondered this.

"Because I love you, you're my sister in all but blood, and I don't see it as you killing him. I see it as you freeing him." Harry hugged her tighter. "You can live through this, 'Mione."

Hermione sobbed. "How? I can't even make up for this." She shuddered.

Harry sighed. "You can."

"No."

"Yes," Harry insisted. "You can because there's nothing you can do but forgive yourself, and let others decide whether they want to stay or leave. When you do, you'll see that we'll all stay."

"Promise?" Hermione choked out, and Harry smiled, handing her back her wand.

"Promise."


	7. My Friends Don't Walk

_**Chapter Seven: My Friends Don't Walk**_

Nature murmured to herself, To keep herself in Cheer.

\- Emily Dickenson

* * *

 **James' POV**

The Aurors around him were watching in shock as the bushy haired witch broke down, and he knew they were all wondering what had happened to make a young girl hurt like that.

"Thank you," Hermione said to Dumbledore. The old wizard smiled wanly. They must have taken the silencing charm off, James noted vaguely, too focused on the boy who looked like he had his wife's eyes. But again, they weren't Lily's eyes, not really. Evan's eyes were a brighter green, but darker, like he had seen things. James felt a swell of righteous anger and he yearned to make whoever hurt this young boy suffer. And suffer a lot.

Evan cleared his throat, but didn't speak, simply watching Hermione as she glanced at the ground, seemingly embarrassed about her outburst.

And then his mood changed so fast that it left James dizzy, Evan's expression became relaxed, nonchalant, like he didn't have any worries. Evan grinned at the blonde-haired witch, who was watching the crowd with a slight smile. It was a little freaky. Luna smiled at them wryly, before turning to Evan.

"I see the things you've lost have found their way back to you." Luna glanced around at the people in the room with them, a wispy smile on her face. "Even if it wasn't quite the way you expected." Evan gave a harsh laugh.

"You mean the fact that I was arrested by them?" He asked cheekily. Luna's eyes twinkled, however, unlike Dumbledore's, didn't have a hidden meaning. She was simply happy.

"Yes, that is a thorn in the side, isn't it?" She tutted, and Evan smiled.

"Just a tad," Evan caught James eye, before looking away quickly. And then his mood changed. Not much, but every emotion seemed to become forced, like the arrogance and confidence was a façade. Put on for whose benefit, James didn't know. "What did Nev mean about us having to help them? Why can't we just go home?" Evan asked with a weird, hollow smile on his face. James disliked that smile instantly. Hermione didn't seem to like it either as she frowned, placing a gentle hand on her friend's arm.

"The only reason we managed to travel dimensions was because we had an anchor. You," She said. Evan didn't react visibly, and James only saw him tense because he was looking for it. Evan still had the muted smile on his face, reaching up and touching the weird scar on his head gently. And then his mood did another flip, leaving an almost gleaming madness in his eyes, a troubled, bitter madness, misplaced on an adult so young.

"You mean I'm here because of my damn destiny?" He laughed, and Hermione nodded, frowning.

"Evan-" She tried to caution, but Evan only laughed some more, even going as far as wiping tears from his eyes. James was shocked and from the expressions on the other people present, so were they. Except, of course, for Luna, Neville and Hermione. They had mixed looks of exasperation and sorrow on their faces.

"Don't lose your marbles just yet, Evan," Luna chastised, hitting his hand gently. Evan paused in his laughter, rubbing his hand.

"Have I gone mad?" Evan asked, a wistful grin on his face, and Luna giggled.

"I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." Luna had her pointer finger against her lips, and Evan smiled, squeezing her hand. Hermione sighed heavily.

"This isn't the time for that, Luna," She snapped, and the two teenagers turned to her.

Luna grinned. "But haven't you heard? The white rabbit has led us down the rabbit hole because it's time for tea." Luna was watching Hermione, an expectant expression on her face, and Hermione sighed. James was shocked when he realized she understood what the blonde-haired witch was saying.

"Right," Hermione said, turning back to Evan. "Back in order, Evan. You can break down later about fighting Voldemort, but right now we have more to explain." And he instantly sat up straighter, and James could see the bitter madness being reeled back, controlled and contained, a madness that no doubt the boy had because of the trauma he had suffered through in the war in their world. And that saddened James.

"About my destiny?" He asked, back to his rigid confidence and strength. James welcomed it, a little anxiously, though he was glad to see that the forced nonchalance was gone.

"Not just that," She whispered, and Evan tensed again. "Because you're, well, you're the master."

"Bloody hell," Evan cursed. "Why?" Hermione shrugged.

"Prophecies are powerful. Death is universal. That provided us with enough power to get here."

"How are we going to get back?" He asked her, and Hermione bit her lip.

"Once our anchors are gone." Hermione was grim faced and Evan broke. At least the confident and strong mood was good while it lasted. It wasn't replaced with madness though. No, a look of utter despair and grief was flooding Evan's face, and it took everything in James' power not to break down for the boy.

"B-but, I can't do it again! I can't risk you guys!" He begged, glancing around at his friends, and James' heart broke for the four children. "I can't!" Neville clasped a hand around his shoulder, and Evan winced. Neville studied the boy carefully.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, and Evan shrugged.

"Voldemort," Evan murmured. Evan smiled his bitter, hollow smile, the smile James hated. "That hasn't even been the part that hurt the most." Evan looked out into the crowd, eyes roiling with emotion. "Right now…well." Hermione stared at Evan and she frowned sympathetically. Evan sighed. "Please don't pity me."

James felt his heart clench when he saw the desperate loneliness in the boy's eyes, and the unbelievable guilt that radiated off the boy that James was sure everyone in the room could sense. Evan looked away.

"I get it, H-Evan," Neville said somberly. Neville pulled Evan into a hug, ignoring the boy's flinch. James noticed it though, and it simply caused more bells to ring in his head.

Neville and Evan pulled apart after a few seconds. They shared knowing looks, and Evan nodded, biting his lip, closing himself off, sinking into himself. It disturbed James, seeing how haunted this boy was. Neville hardened, looking more cynical and angry at the world, which was equally as awful.

But both boys, after only a few seconds of their emotions flashing across their faces, forced themselves into one of calm, an expression that held no emotion whatsoever, just coolly collected. That disturbed James even more.

"Wait, wait, wait," Sirius broke in then. "Voldemort?" Evan winced.

"Yeah, when I escaped, the Death Eaters took me," Evan explained, before turning to Hermione. "Unfortunately, I broke protocol 42 around him." Hermione shook, and James swore he saw her eye twitch.

"You've got to be kidding," Hermione said dryly. Evan shook his head. "So he knows?"

"Yep," Evan deadpanned, before breaking into a cheeky smile. James inwardly groaned, recognizing the madness gleaming in the teenager's eyes. Was he going to talk about tea again? "Old Snake Face hates me now."

"Guys!" Sirius broke in then. "How are you not freaking out?" Evan glanced at Hermione before shrugging. "If he had you, does that mean he tortured you!?" Evan shrugged again.

"Yeah, he tortured me." Evan studied his nail beds. Hermione coughed. There was a murmur of disbelief through the crowd. James was shocked, again, as well. Evan barely seemed upset about the torture; as if it wasn't something he was hurt over. If it wasn't the torture that haunted this young boy, then what was haunting him?

"Evan," Hermione snapped. "Stop freaking the crowd out with your messed up apathetic madness." So, Evan put on a mocking grimace, and his lip trembled as he clutched his stomach.

"Oh, ow!" He pretended to cry out painfully. "It hurts! Oh merlin, jeez!" The crowd ignored him.

"He was torturing you, yet you escaped?" Lucius asked snidely, and Evan tensed, glaring at the man.

"What? Do you want evidence?" Evan replied scathingly, his eyes hardening, taking on a new sort of madness, and leaving James dizzy. This boy and his moods were exhausting. Lucius simply raised an eyebrow. So, Evan lifted his shirt up a bit and smirked snidely when he saw the look on Lucius' face.

The sight made everyone's eyes widen in shock, really.

"He did that?" James choked out, but he quickly controlled himself.

"Yeah," Evan replied frostily. "He didn't believe me, hence the word 'liar' carved repeatedly into my stomach." Evan barked out a harsh laugh, eyes gleaming. Lily looked unsettled, as did the others.

"Why did he want you when you're barely an adult?" She asked softly.

"It's Voldemort," Evan said simply, as if that was reason enough. They certainly understood.

"Did he do it on your hand too?" Lily's jaw clenched.

"No," He said stiffly. "A very cruel woman did." He didn't elaborate, they didn't push for answers.

Before anything else could happen, another woman came into the courtroom, this time with Gawain at her heels. James glanced over at the new dimension travellers and winced, pitying them.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

"You three!" The receptionist jabbed her finger at Luna, Neville and Hermione. "This is a private courtroom." His friends glanced at him, who nodded, so they left without protest, following the receptionist.

"I see you're out of your chair," The other woman said. Harry stiffened, freezing up in fear. He flinched when James' patted his shoulder, but the man didn't seem to notice. Harry tried to pull away, but at the same time, he wanted to stay put. He was his father, sort of, after all.

"Hey, man, are you okay?" James asked.

Why would James ask that? He didn't care for Harry, why would James want to make sure he was okay? Harry drew into himself, drawing a blank, impassive expression. Harry didn't want to fool himself into thinking that James _cared_ about what happened to him. Harry wasn't an idiot. Even though these strangers were wearing his family's faces, they _weren't_ his family. Besides, he was going to die anyways, why should he get attached?

Harry didn't respond, looking at the woman instead, eyeing her carefully.

"It's okay, she won't hurt you," James whispered. Harry didn't acknowledge the man, his eyes narrowing in suspicion instead. Why would he trust this woman? He had learned that it was hard trusting adults, as they always let him down in some way or another. Being alone, was, well, lonely, and hurt, but it was a hurt he could deal with.

James looked slightly affronted at Harry's utter lack of trust in authority figures. Harry ignored the man, and he sucked all his doubt and emotions back in. He didn't want them to see, didn't want to give it away. He became someone who didn't look like they'd been through hell, replacing his pain with a blank, emotionless mask.

"Longbottom, Fortescue and Malfoy, I need you for a mission," The woman stated, and they nodded. The people she called on left, leaving only Remus, Lily, Sirius, Dumbledore and James. Harry could feel their eyes on him. Once the doors closed, James turned to Harry.

"Where do we go?" Harry asked softly, and he fought down the flinch when he felt Dumbledore's soft hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up at the old wizard, who was smiling down at him.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Dumbledore mused, and Harry sent him an incredulous look.

"My aunt and uncle's counterparts aren't going to welcome me with open arms," He said dryly, and Dumbledore chuckled softly, rubbing his chin in thought.

"We can't let you and your friends go off by yourselves, since there'd be no explanation for having two of the same people in different places," He murmured. Harry was looking down at his hands, so he didn't realize Lily was behind him until he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"You can stay with us, Evan, you and your friends," She promised. Harry, Sirius and James sent her incredulous looks. Was she for real? Harry felt nervous laughter bubble up in his chest, and he chuckled softly.

"I was just tried for assault and you want me to stay with you?" Harry asked, his emotions roiling, leaving him the option of either laughing like a madman or shutting it all down. He chose laughing.

Lily didn't even flinch, to her credit. "Yes." She studied Harry carefully, and Harry studied her in turn. How funny the universe must think itself was, fucking with him like this. Harry smiled softly.

"If you haven't realized yet, Mrs. Potter, I'm a little mad," He half-joked, shaking his head.

Lily frowned. "Evan, do you have ways to help you cope?" She was still staring. Harry froze.

"Pardon?" He asked, catching her eye. And she only stared, utterly serious.

"This-this façade." She waved her hand towards him. "Is this a way for you to cope with it all?"

Harry looked away, clenching his jaw, shutting it down, hardening. It suddenly wasn't so funny anymore. "It's either I laugh or I cry." Harry looked at her, eyes blazing, his heart pounding with desperate anger. "Crying isn't an option, so laughing it is." Harry grinned, eyes flashing. "But I've kind of lost my ability to laugh anymore, so it makes me seem a little mad." Harry chuckled again, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, before closing his eyes. He was tired. So, so tired, and it felt like his entire head was filled with cotton balls. That would explain why he was acting crazier than normal, he'd have to apologize for that later. "I'm okay." Harry whispered, not entirely sure who he was trying to convince. All he knew was that he couldn't handle the rejection so he didn't even want to try, didn't even want to risk it. He stood up swiftly. He felt the offer chip away at a part of his resolve, his promise to himself that he wouldn't set himself up for rejection, and he fought back. But it was hard.

It was even harder to fight the feeling, when James, as if on reflex, reached out in time to stop him from falling. Harry's head spun, no doubt caused from the infected cuts on his torso. His stomach flipped, but he stopped his gag reflex from embarrassing him.

"Here, we'll help you," James said. "You should come with us. Hogwarts isn't free, so our place is your next best option. It has the best wards." Harry flinched minutely. He couldn't put _them_ at risk!

"No," Harry whispered, removing James' hands carefully. James didn't let go. Harry pulled away and sat back down, looking away. "I'm just tired. I don't want to impose."

"You won't," Lily promised, and she stood up, holding her hand out. He felt sick. Dizzy and out of it. Harry glanced at her hand, barely comprehending it, before standing up by himself, watching them warily.

"Do you not trust us?" Sirius asked curiously, and Harry looked the man over.

"I don't even know you," He said bluntly, his disappearing lucidity allowing him to be blatantly honest. Harry turned away. "I just want to get home." He could hear the desperation himself, and he winced at how pathetic he sounded. He didn't want them to hear it. He didn't want their pity.

"Is home with your friends?" Remus asked carefully, and Harry looked over at him, his heart breaking.

"I don't know," Harry said honestly, which surprised him. But he was always honest with his Remus. Maybe this world's Remus reminded him of his Remus, and that was why he said what he did.

"Why not?" Remus asked gently, and Harry looked away, down at his hands.

"I don't know," He said again, before taking a step despite his dizziness. "Can I go now?" He didn't wait for a response, simply trying to walk past them even as his vision faltered.

Strong arms were around him immediately, and he struggled against them. "Hey, kiddo, calm down."

He only whimpered in pain, before it all went black.

* * *

 **Sirius' POV**

He looked down at the boy in his arms fearfully, before looking back at his friends.

"What the hell?" Sirius managed to say. Before he could do anything, Evan shifted, crying out in pain. His green eyes fluttered behind closed lids, and Sirius shook the boy lightly, trying to get him to gain consciousness. James came back with his medical kit, and Sirius handed the teenager over to the healer silently, lips tight.

"Evan? Are you here?" James whispered with a gentle hand on the boy's forehead. It was like James' touch triggered something and Evan jolted awake, slightly. His eyes were looking around him, unseeing, somewhere else. His eyes landed on James, and he clutched James' shirt, trembling fearfully. It was a new mood for the dimension traveller, an almost childish desperation, like a dog that had been kicked too many times trapped in another corner.

"Please! It wasn't my fault!" Evan cried out and James took Evan's wrists gently, prying his fingers from his shirt. When James' hand touched the boy's wrist, Evan cried out in pain, lurching away from James and cradled his arm. Sirius' stomach dropped. It looked broken.

James instantly went into Healer mode, making Evan comfortable, making sure to handle the arm carefully. He quickly muttered a spell, but it wasn't healing it. James cursed angrily.

"We need to get him to St. Mungo's," James said grimly. "Voldemort must have done something." But before anyone could say anything, Dumbledore walked in. The four friends looked up, surprised.

"We can't bring him to St. Mungo's," Dumbledore said calmly. Sirius winced, feeling slightly guilty for the old professor when he recognized the righteous anger in James' eyes, but his own anger surged up as well, so the feeling of guilt was pushed away quite fast.

"Why the hell not!?" James shouted. "He's hurt!" Dumbledore sighed.

"Because he doesn't exist here," Dumbledore explained calmly. "You heard what they said. Evan's here to help destroy Voldemort. He cannot be lost, and going to St. Mungo's compromises the advantage our side has. Besides, you have more than enough potions to get him by." James advanced towards the old man, but Sirius grabbed his wrist. Lily didn't stop, though and Remus didn't stop her. Not because he couldn't, more because he didn't want to. Sirius didn't blame him. The way the old coot talked about a young man, a _person_ that way was sick.

"He's 18 years old, Albus! He is not simply a means to an end!" She roared, so Remus decided to try to restrain her, however half-hearted his attempts were. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?"

"Leave it, Lily," Remus said coldly. "He'll do anything for the 'greater good', even if it means sending a boy to war." Albus visibly flinched, but before any of the Aurors could do anything, Dumbledore was gone.

Quivering with rage, James picked the boy up, a surprised look on his face before he snarled, shaking so much he nearly dropped Evan. Sirius grabbed James' wrist, before taking Evan from his arms.

"Bloody hell, he's like a bag of bones," Sirius said, anger barely contained. He might not like the boy, but it didn't mean he enjoyed the fact that the boy was tortured by Voldemort. The others seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Lily was shaking angrily and Sirius saw Remus' eyes flash gold. His wolf was being protective.

"We all know what Voldemort can do," She said lowly. James pulled her close. This boy wasn't Harry, but he also was extremely hurt because of Voldemort and that was reason enough for her anger, for all of theirs.

"Hey, mate, you okay?" Sirius asked softly and James blinked a few times, before nodding.

"Yeah," James said, before darkening. Sirius exchanged looks with Remus, who was biting his lip, and the two friends nodded. Both didn't think James was telling the truth, the bloody masochist. "Let's just get the boy home." Evan seemed to stir again, and the boy clutched Sirius' shirt, eyes glassy. Sirius softened at the green eyes, which were so vulnerable, childlike, despite him being 18.

"Are you mad?" Evan asked.

Bloody right they were mad. Mad at the son of a bitch that hurt this boy.

"No, Evan," Remus soothed. "Not at you." Good ol' Remus, doing what no one else present could, all of them too angry to even pretend that they were calm. Remus was finding it hard even, his eyes were flashing gold.

"Please don't hurt me," Evan murmured again, and Sirius' stomach twisted when he realized the boy was simply saying it again because he was so used to saying it when he was afraid. Sirius saw James tense, no doubt noticing what Sirius noticed as well, and James walked over to the teenager in Sirius' arms. Sirius noticed, and most likely the others too, that despite James' cold reaction to the boy at first, the Auror was weirdly attentive to the boy, despite Evan being a stranger.

"I will never hurt you," James whispered, brushing the hair away from the boy's forehead.

"Promise?" The young man pleaded, and James gave him a soft smile.

"Promise."


	8. I'm Stepping Through the Door

_**Chapter Eight: I'm Stepping Through the Door**_

To hurt is as human as to breathe.

\- J.K. Rowling

* * *

 **Sirius' POV**

"Hermione," Remus called out to the three friends. The bushy haired witch turned to them, a frown darkening on her face, but she didn't seem as troubled as Sirius and his friends were. None of the teenagers looked overly concerned. Sure, they were upset, but they didn't look like they were surprised.

"Voldemort did it again," Luna said lightly. "They think alike, don't they 'Mione?" She smiled, much like Evan's hollow smile, up at them. James was shaking.

"What do you mean, again?" James asked slowly. Hermione sighed.

"In our world when Voldemort tortured him, he used a dark curse which stopped healing spells from working," Hermione explained detachedly, as if she was simply explaining a spell theory. "Potions work, though. He needs those." Hermione placed a hand on Evan's chest, closing her eyes. "Is he going to St. Mungo's?"

"No." James clenched his jaw. "Dumbledore doesn't want to risk our advantage." James rolled his eyes. Hermione didn't react again; none of the teenagers did, as if they weren't surprised, yet again.

"Where do we go?" Neville asked then. "Evan's targeted by your Voldemort. We need somewhere safe."

"You're going to stay at our house," Lily said firmly, glancing over at James. Hermione exchanged speculative looks with Neville, and Sirius studied their reactions, watched them stiffen slightly.

"I don't think that's a great idea…" Hermione trailed off, biting her lip and glancing down at Evan. Neville reached out to squeeze her shoulder, but it was Luna who responded.

"Do you live in a castle?" She asked them, and the four friends exchanged looks before Lily, who was watching Luna pityingly, answered. The blonde haired witch was a strange case.

"No, but we live on the beach," Lily provided, and Luna beamed brightly, clapping her hands.

"Yay!" She said, turning to her friends. "The beach is beautiful. Don't you want a little bit of beauty right now?" Luna was watching the other two carefully, her eyes bright, and Neville glanced at Hermione, who was back to watching Evan, a sorrowful look in her eyes. But she nodded.

"I do, Luna," She said softly, looking back up to smile at the silly girl. Luna smiled back. "Okay." Hermione turned to them, looking both Lily and James in the eyes. "We'll stay with you."

* * *

 **James' POV**

"Put him down on the couch," Lily instructed, and Sirius nodded, placing the boy down.

"I'll be back to heal him soon. I have to stop by the hospital, pick some stuff up," James whispered, kissing her head tenderly. Lily nodded, sending him an anxious smile, before turning back to the poor boy.

James went to the fireplace when it flared up in green light.

"Oomph," His daughter said as she crashed into James. James' hands automatically reached out, steadying the girl before she could fall. Calla blushed, looking up at her father.

"Thank god you're back," Calla grumbled. James raised an eyebrow.

"Trouble in paradise?" He drawled, and Calla turned to glare as Ren came through.

"She's being a bitch," Calla snarled, and James glared.

"Language," He warned, glancing between his daughters. They ignored him.

"Really, Cal?" Ren sneered. Calla's eyes narrowed.

"I can't believe you embarrassed me in front of _him_!" Calla shouted.

"Oh, sod off, Cal, I didn't do anything," Ren drawled in amusement, smirking as she leaned languidly against a wall. "You've got to admit, it was funny." Calla seethed.

"Screw you, Ren!" Calla growled, and James sighed, running a hand over his face, before standing between his two children.

"Enough you two," James said firmly and the two girls hushed quickly, though it didn't stop the furious glares they were sending each other. "I have some people for you to meet." Calla and Ren were watching him carefully, confused.

"Is this about the kid you arrested?" Ren asked bluntly. James nodded.

"Yes," He said carefully. Ren, and Calla frowned. "He's hurt, so he's here along with his friends. They need help." James glanced over at Lily, who nodded encouragingly.

"What's wrong with him?" Calla fretted, and James sighed. "Was it You-know-who?" James felt a stab of sorrow that his daughter had to live in a world where Voldemort was a threat, and she continuously worried that her parents, Sirius, and Remus might die at the hands of the dark wizard.

"Oh, baby, don't worry about him," James whispered, pulling his scared daughter into his arms. Seeing Evan, and seeing how injured he was, James couldn't help but be grateful that Ren, and Calla had never had to suffer in their lives. James pulled away, a fierce expression on his face. "Don't you worry about Voldemort, he will _not_ hurt you." Calla studied his father carefully, before nodding.

"Where are the people?" Calla asked, and James glanced over at her.

"They're in the guest rooms. They're washing up, but they'll be down soon." James looked sternly at the twins. "Do _not_ bother them, understood?" Not that James was worried about their guests. He was worried about what hexes they would use on his daughters if they bugged them in any way. The girls both exchanged mutinous looks, frowning. With a bit more glaring, the twins finally nodded reluctantly. James smiled. "Thank you. Tell your mother I'm going to the hospital." With that, he flooed away.

"Auror Potter," Healer O'Brien greeted when James stepped out of the fireplace.

"Healer O'Brien," James greeted back, before walking into the potion stores. He grabbed bone-healing potions, blood-replenishing potions, healing salves, pepper-up potions, calming potions, just about anything before he Apparated back home.

"How is he?" James asked immediately, walking over to the boy. Lily looked up at him, frowning, but didn't say anything as she lifted his shirt. Lily was stock still, anger practically radiating from her. "Holy shit. It's so much worse than I thought."

"Can you heal it?" Remus asked, fingers tracing the boy's scars. He glanced over at James as he took in the words carved across the boy's body. Evan showed them in the courtroom the one on his hip bone, where the cuts were shallow. Most of them were deeper and bloodier, scabbed over and infected. His torso was emaciated and purple. James nearly fainted when he noticed that he could count each and every rib.

He gently turned the boy onto his side, revealing the teen's back. No words were carved into his back, but that didn't mean he was unmarked. There were older scars, straight, thick scars, all up and down his back.

Lily reached out, touching the scars that were all over his body. "James," Lily whispered, in shock, really. "Who did this?" James simply nodded as he tried to reel in his anger, clenching his fists.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked as he walked over to them, bandages cradled in his arms. As his eyes landed on Evan's scars on his back, he snarled angrily, and James registered something breaking when the four adults present took in the sight of the boy's past. He heard Lily's angry gasp, and Remus' outraged cry, but he didn't react, too far gone to hear much, too far gone into his own anger when he realized what those scars meant.

Without speaking, he turned the boy over onto his back to assess the damage the words caused on the boy's chest and stomach, and figure out if he could heal the infection.

"I'm going to heal his arm first," James said hoarsely, voice detached. Lily stirred, touching the arm gingerly.

"About that." She turned his arm over. "Look." James was shocked to see thin scars tracing up the inside of Evan's wrists. He grabbed Evan's other wrist and saw similar scars, in different places being the only changes.

"Why're they there?" He asked but no one answered.

"He was hurt," Hermione said as she walked into the room, her aura pulsing. "But he doesn't like talking about it." She sat down, shrugging. "You can ask him about it when he wakes up, but I'm not promising anything." She frowned as her eyes landed on the infected cuts on his torso. "No wonder he was acting madder than usual."

But that wasn't going to distract them.

"Did Voldemort do it?" Lily asked, but Hermione didn't answer, simply sending her a patronizing glare before turning back to Evan, taking his hand. Luna skipped in then, smiling wide, before she glanced over at Evan and her eyes landed on Evan's hand in Hermione's. Luna frowned.

"Poor, poor, Evan," She whispered. James turned to the blonde girl, hoping she'd provide answers.

"Why?" He asked her. "What happened?" James saw Luna's expression darken in a way he hadn't seen before. She looked like her friends, haunted and bitter, so unlike how he was used to her looking.

"He has a box," Luna whispered, glancing up at Lily, her eyes watering. "Opening it means he gets hurt, but it's the only way to keep the good in his box." Hermione clenched her jaw, but didn't provide any explanation. "So, he opened it." Luna shook her head pityingly.

"What? That makes no sense," Sirius gritted out, but Hermione provided no explanation, glaring instead.

"Then you should ask him." Hermione's voice was cold, and her eyes were piercing as they stared at the four friends. She wasn't up for tolerating any arguments. Sirius, of course, didn't take it seriously, despite his name.

"Why can't you just tell us?" Sirius huffed angrily, and Neville came in then, all power and confidence.

"Because he doesn't trust easily," Neville said firmly. "And he trusts us with this, so he'd hate it if we tell you when he's not even awake." Neville stared defiantly at all of them. "He'll tell you. Just give him time." James didn't have to be an expert at reading between the lines to hear that Neville meant that Evan didn't trust _them._ Funny, as Evan's friends were the ones to agree to come here to stay, despite the fact that they claimed they knew Evan didn't trust them, yet here they were, and he was unconscious.

"He's hurt. Inside," Luna said, placing her hand on Evan's chest. "He needs a way out." Remus looked at her sharply, eyes widening. Hermione turned to face the blonde-haired witch, frown deepening.

"Luna!" She hissed. "Now he knows." Remus shook his head.

"No, Hermione," Remus whispered. "It wasn't Luna's fault." He glanced down at Evan. "My mother's a muggle. I went to a muggle school when I was younger, watched muggle shows. Still do." Hermione relaxed, a look of realization coming to her.

"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out, Mrs. Potter," Hermione said lightly, turning to face his wife. "What with being muggleborn and all," Hermione said this with easy nonchalance, as if she was stating a well-known fact.

Lily sat up straighter, eyes narrowing. "How did you-"

"Still, that was quick, Remus," Hermione complimented before smiling harshly. "But I guess you know a thing or two about self-inflicted scars, right, Professor?"


	9. He Had White Horses

_**Chapter Nine: He Had White Horses**_

Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.

\- Dylan Thomas

* * *

 **Remus' POV**

Silence.

"You can open your eyes, Evan," Hermione finally said, smirking slightly. "I know you've been awake the whole time." She turned to him, and sure enough, he was sitting up, smirking slyly. Remus was stunned at how similar the boy was to James, for some reason. The green eyes were alight with mirth, which was a far cry from the angry, depressed boy in the court room. They were almost glassy, and Remus remembered the calming potion and pain killer that James gave Evan. No wonder the boy was loopy.

"Oh, _dear_ , I guess the wolf's out of the bag," Evan drawled, while everyone else was still trying to recover. Hermione turned to him, raising an eyebrow. He turned to Luna. "Way to _rat_ me out, Luna, _serious_ ly." He paused, frowning, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Are you done with your puns, Evan?" She drawled. "Because you've kind've shocked everyone else."

"Yeah, okay," He laughed. "That was harsh, 'Mione." She blushed. It was harsh, and Remus was unsure how he felt about the bushy haired witch after she pointed out something he was quite ashamed of.

"I'm sorry, Remus," She apologized, looking nervously at him. Remus gave a strained smile, feeling his animosity towards her begin to dissolve. "We had you as a professor third year. Snape had us write an essay about werewolves, which was when I figured out that you were one." Hermione smiled apologetically. "I was just upset that you weren't letting Evan's personal matters alone so I said the first thing I knew would shut you all up."

"No problem, Hermione," Remus said, smiling softly. "We shouldn't have pried." And he was telling the truth. Remus could feel Sirius' glare on his back, and he turned to glare at the man. Sirius only rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out at Remus.

"Will you tell us, Evan?" Sirius pouted, turning to the boy with his best puppy dog eyes, which melted even Lily's will. Remus chuckled at Sirius' shocked expression when Evan only rolled his eyes, tensing up.

"Like Neville said, I don't trust you yet," Evan said smoothly, snapping back to his cold and calculating mood so fast it made Remus' head spin. "But Remus, we never cared that you were a werewolf and we don't care now." Evan smiled, a true smile, not his bitter smile that he usually wore, at him. "You were the best Defense against the Dark Arts teacher we ever had." Remus' eyes widened a bit and his lips twitched into a smile, heart pounding.

"Thank you, Evan," He said, touching the back of the boy's hand lightly. Evan didn't even flinch. James butted in then, his arms full of potions and healing salves.

"Here," James said, passing Evan potion after potion, salve after salve. Evan's jaw was clenched, in obvious pain as the salves would have stung his infected wounds, but he didn't complain.

"Thank you, James," He said, voice thick, and Remus narrowed his eyes. Evan was watching all of them strangely, like they weren't real, like they were some sort of dream. "I feel better now." James raised an eyebrow. "Really, I do." Evan went to stand up, but James pushed him down gently.

"Evan," James said gently. "You're not healed yet. You should rest." Evan glanced over at his friends, and Hermione nodded. Evan started to look indignant but Luna placed her hand on his shoulder and he calmed.

"You're not Atlas, Evan," Luna chirped. "Put the sky down for a bit. We can carry it for you while you're resting." Evan watched her carefully, before his mood did another 180 and his face became broody and exhausted. Remus was alarmed, but none of the teenagers seemed bothered at Evan's mood swings.

"We're sharing a room," Neville said, nodding towards Evan. "And the girls are sharing the other one." Evan continued to watch James and Lily, biting his lip, before turning to Neville, nodding.

"When you wake up, we'll eat," Lily promised gently, and Remus narrowed his eyes but didn't comment when he saw Evan stiffen slightly. From the look Sirius and James shared, they noticed too.

James butted in then. "And we'd like you all to meet our daughters," He said, a carefree smile on his face, though to the others, it was obviously forced. Evan froze, before glancing over at James. Remus could hear his heart racing, and he frowned slightly, but didn't point it out.

"Only daughters?" He asked softly, and Remus could practically feel the room tense up, and Evan must have too because he winced. "I'm sorry."

Lily smiled softly at the young man. "That's okay, Evan, you didn't know."

"How many daughters do you have?" Hermione asked, distantly polite, and Remus winced.

"We have two," Lily answered, equally as distant. "Ren and Calla are twins, 15 years old." Evan looked troubled, before he sat up.

"I'm tired," He blurted out, no longer in his cold and distant mood. Now he looked weary and defeated, like he had given up on whatever battle was raging inside of him. He sent them a fatigued smile, before standing up. He refused any of their help, and straightened on his own. Remus only noticed his shaking because he was looking for it, and his jaw was clenched in obvious exertion.

Luna smiled at Evan, skipping up to him and taking his hand. Evan let her, the only one he willingly allowed to help him, and walked with her, Neville and Hermione trailing behind the two.

"Oh, Evan, it's a castle here, even with knights!" They heard Luna's exuberant sing song easily as she skipped away. "The sandman doesn't _dare_ hurt us here! And there isn't a dungeon, how bout that? So, we don't need to worry about hollow stomachs and skeletons!" Remus froze at that comment. "And there's so much fairies here, Evan, happy, innocent fairies. Oh, we've got to help them!" She rambled on until they were out of sight, and Remus turned to his friends. Sirius was watching the retreating backs of Hermione and Neville and the bouncing blonde.

"What in the hell was she talking about?" He asked bluntly. Everyone glared at him.

"Don't go saying it like that," Lily snapped, and Sirius rolled his eyes, completely brushing her off.

"Oh, c'mon, Lils," He whined. "They all seem a little mad." Sirius gestured wildly with his hands. "I mean, Hermione nearly used what sounded like the Cruciatus curse on Lucius, and the whole exchange between Harry and Luna was insane. Neville's the only one who seems remotely alright, and that's saying something."

Lily glared. "I think they're saner than expected for war veterans." Sirius ducked his head. "Did you hear what Luna said? 'And there isn't a dungeon.'" Lily choked. "Why would they be concerned about a dungeon?"

Remus winced. "Do you think it has anything to do with what the Lucius in their world did to them?"

They were all silent, before James walked away. "Who knows," He practically growled. "All I know is that they're here, obviously traumatized, and now Dumbledore wants to use them to fight our war, not even caring about the fact that it's not _their_ war and that they could die." James ran an angry hand through his hair.

Remus walked slowly towards him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "James, it'll be alright. They'll have us to help them, and the rest of the Order."

James glanced over at Remus. "That doesn't count, Remus." James clenched his jaw. "Do you see the way Evan looks at us?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It's like he doesn't want to let us close, like he doesn't want to try to trust us." James clenched his fists, "Who in his world let him believe he had to fight a terrible war all on his own?" Remus was silent, watching James carefully, but it was Sirius who spoke.

"Why do you care, James?" Sirius asked bluntly, and Remus winced when he, who was the only one who could see James' face, saw the fiery anger in the man's eyes.

"Because he looks like me!" He shouted. "He looks like he could be my son, and even though I _know_ he isn't, he's what Harry could have been!" James was breathing heavily, and Remus glanced over at Lily, who had her hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes. "And maybe I don't want to fuck it up again. Maybe I want to save this boy because I couldn't save mine." James closed his eyes.

Lily, who had kept her tears in, walked over to her husband. "James-" she choked. "-James. I get it." James looked over at the red head, his eyes gleaming. "But he _isn't_ Harry." James choked this time.

"I know," He whispered, before closing his eyes. "But it's almost like he is. It's like I'm looking at a what if version of my son, and it _hurts_." He opened his eyes, pulling Lily into a hug when she let out a strangled sob. "I'm sorry, Lils. I'm sorry for bringing it up." Lily shook her head, pulling James closer.

"No, it wasn't your fault," She whispered. "And I agree. Those teenagers, they need our help." Remus glared at Sirius, and the man winced, nodding his head.

Sirius cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, James. That was a dick comment." James only nodded.

"It's fine, Pads." James smiled gently. Sirius swallowed thickly.

"I get it, Prongs," Sirius said, and Remus took the man's hand, squeezing it tightly. "I see it too." James only nodded, his jaw still clenched, before sighing heavily. "I get it."

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry woke up slowly, then all at once, and his eyes snapped open, his body jerking as he sat up quickly.

"Ouch," He moaned, clutching his side tightly.

"That's why you don't move so fast when you're hurt," Neville sighed, not taking his eyes away from his book. Harry rolled his eyes, before frowning at the other teenager.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully, and Neville raised an eyebrow. Harry sighed. "I mean, my parents are here, yours are too, and we're here with mine, but you're not with yours." Neville frowned this time.

"I-" He paused, and Harry waited patiently, watching as Neville clenched his jaw, ducking his head. "I'm fine. They're not really my parents, so it doesn't really hurt, you know?" He licked his lips nervously.

Harry swallowed. "Yeah," Harry said, before pausing. " _Still_ …" Neville sighed, looking down at his hands.

"Still," He agreed. They were silent, both lost in their thoughts. Harry cleared his throat.

"Did you know your counterpart here was the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"What?" Neville choked out, and Harry nodded solemnly, looking away, his head swimming. He groaned again, clutching his head. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and he fought to keep down the flinch. "Here."

Harry looked up, smiling gratefully as he took the pain relieving potion from Neville's hands. "I hate this potion," He said, contradicting his previous smile. "It always makes me loopy." Neville snorted.

"And god knows we need you to act crazy again," Neville smirked, and Harry chuckled, taking the potion down in one go, wincing as it burned his throat.

"They're just going to have to deal with it," Harry slurred, already feeling a spacey smile crawling across his face, and his head began to fill up with cotton. He giggled. "Beggars can't be choosers." Harry paused, a serious look coming over his face. "I mean, you can be their saviour." He smiled bitterly. "You were the Boy-Who-Lived here. Congratulations," He joked, and Neville smirked.

"Not really," He disagreed. "Those congratulations go to you, Harry, because you're the Chosen One now, since I'm dead." He patted Harry on the back and Harry scowled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, _technically_ -"

Neville rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean."

Harry grinned. "Well," He said, stretching. "Ready to go back to the others?"

Neville frowned. "Harry, you slept 15 min-"

"No, no, no," Harry protested, standing, swaying slightly on his feet but managing to stay standing, while waving his hands at Neville. "I'm fine!" He grinned, eyes gleaming. He wasn't exactly fine. His head felt like it was filled with cotton, and words just kept tumbling out of his mouth. And he didn't have the strength in him to fight off the madness, smiling wistfully while his head was in the clouds.

"Ha-" Neville started again, but Harry shook his head vigorously, waving his hands.

"Neville," He sighed. "Neville, Neville, Neville." Harry pouted, placing his hands on his hips. "I've learned to live on less than 4 hours of sleep with no naps through the day," He said in a matter-of-fact tone, wiping off his shoulders, avoiding Neville's eyes as he stood there with his arms crossed.

"Harry," Neville sighed in exasperation. "You're hurt! Your cuts are infected, and it's affecting your ability to think properly." Neville waved his hand wildly at Harry, who pouted even more.

"Oh, you're just being _silly_ , Neville," Harry whined, before heading over to the door. "Where's Hermione? She'll understand." Harry turned, grinning conspiringly. "Then we'll break out of this place." He leaned towards Neville, pointer finger in front of lips. "And I'm not _Harry_. I'm Evan."

Neville sighed. "Right." He frowned. "Go back to bed, _Evan_. If you sleep for 15 more minutes, then we can go see the others, and go for dinner." Harry darkened.

"Neville?" He asked quietly. The other boy looked up. "What if they hate me?"

Neville was silent. "Harry-"

Harry frowned. "I'm not Harry, I'm Evan." Harry's eyes were drooping, but he forced them to remain open so he could glare at his friend. "I'm not Harry. Not anymore. I don't want to be Harry anymore."

Neville frowned. "You can be Evan, then, but you _also_ have to be Harry." Harry pouted. "You need to be Harry too so you can get rid of Voldemort." Harry pondered this, reaching up to touch his scar gently.

"So we can go home," Harry said solemnly and Neville nodded. Harry could feel Neville's eyes on him, but he didn't look at the other man, staring fixedly out the window instead, staring out at the beach. "It's like Shell Cottage." He finally looked up at Neville, his eyes shining. "But the beach is white here, Neville. There isn't any red to be seen." Neville opened his mouth, but no noise came out, and Harry nodded, looking back out the window.

"Harry…" Neville swallowed thickly, and Harry smiled softly, taking Neville's hand.

"I'll help them, Nev," Harry promised, nodded vigorously. "I'll help them so their beach stays clean. But after-" He choked, closing his eyes. "What if I don't want to go home, Neville?" Harry opened his eyes, biting his lip.

Neville sighed heavily, looking out the window this time. "I don't know," He whispered. "You might not get a choice in the matter." Harry didn't respond, simply nodded. Neville was right, after all. Harry had never gotten to choose before, so why would he expect to be able to now? Why would his needs matter?

"I'm tired," Harry blurted out, making his way over to the bed, his head whirling. He groaned, his hands clutching his head, not liking the thoughts he was thinking. "Goodbye."

"H-Evan-" Neville began, but Harry rolled onto his side, back to Neville, his arms clutched in front of him, eyes squeezed shut. If he went to sleep, his bad thoughts would go away, and his painful feelings would leave him alone. All he had to do was go to sleep and forget.

* * *

Harry woke up slowly this time, coming out of his drugged fog, groaning as he sat up, stretching his sore muscles. "Merlin. I hate pain relieving potions," He muttered. He stood up, and Neville looked up from his book, setting it down on his bed. Neville was watching him carefully, and Harry felt self-conscious suddenly. "What?"

Neville continued to watch him. "Do you remember what you were saying?"

Harry frowned, trying to think back to his drugged haze. He shuddered. "Did I act mad again? Please tell me I didn't embarrass myself." Neville smiled lightly, shaking his head.

"No, but you did call yourself Harry a lot," Neville said, giving him a careful look. Harry sighed.

"I guess I can't be taking any potions before dinner." He grinned. "Can't go revealing my real identity in front of my pseudo-parents, now can I?" Harry laughed, while Neville frowned.

"Why don't you tell them?" He asked. Harry instantly darkened.

"It's not like they're my parents," He muttered, looking down at his feet. "And I'm not their son either. Once they learn what I've done, they'll hate me." He smiled bitterly. "Rather avoid the rejection."

Neville frowned, but didn't say anything. "Well, Lily came in a few minutes ago saying dinner would be ready soon." Harry nodded, walking towards the door. He felt Neville touch his shoulder gently. "Are you sure you're okay?" Harry turned, frowning as Neville watched him with imploring eyes.

"I'll be fine," He promised. Neville's eyes darted away when Harry glared lightly.

"Yeah, of course you will," He said, and Harry tilted his head, trying to read the other man's emotions.

"Are _you_ okay?" He asked Neville. "I mean, would you rather stay with your-" Harry paused. "-almost parents?" Neville chuckled softly, rolling his eyes.

"Almost parents?" He teased. Harry scowled. "And no, I don't. They're not my parents, anyways."

They were silent, before Harry clapped his hands. Neville jumped. "Alright," Harry chirped. "Let's get this show on the road." He flung the door open, forcing himself to remain calm and nonchalant as he walked down the hall. Neville gripped his shoulder, steering him down a different hallway.

"Wrong way," He said gruffly, and Harry grinned at the man, continuing to strut down the hallway.

"Oh Neville, I was just testing you," Harry sang, wagging his finger in Neville's face. Neville frowned, his hand darting out quickly to grab Harry's wrist, before placing it gently at his side.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Neville asked skeptically, eying Harry, causing him to fidget. Harry didn't like being studied. "I thought you said the pain relieving potion was out of your system."

Harry frowned. He could feel his mind rambling, and steeled his thoughts, reeling them back in. He inhaled deeply. "Okay. Yeah, I'm fine." Harry squared his shoulders, gaining more control as he packed all his unease, fear, pain and anger into little boxes, controlled and contained. And as he did that, his mind was easier to control.

Neville studied him a bit more, before nodding. "Okay. Great." He smiled tightly. "Ready to go have dinner?"

Harry frowned, sighing. "Do I have a choice?" He half-joked, but Neville didn't laugh.

"No," Neville said, almost soberly. "No, Evan, you don't."

* * *

Harry was not looking forward to it. Not at all. Well, who would look forward to eating dinner with their dead family's counterparts, and kids who may or may not be your sisters?

Harry sure didn't, and he sure as hell thought he had the right not to. He was _not_ excited.

He felt his stomach flutter with nerves, but he stomped it down, keeping it in a box. "Where're the girls?"

Hermione popped up beside him, and he tensed, but managed not to show any other reaction to the surprise. "Right here." Hermione studied him carefully. "Did you get any sleep at all, H-Evan?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Enough about me, what about you? You need to rest too, Hermione," Harry chastised, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Hermione only leaned back on her heels, crossing her arms across her chest and giving him her typical I-don't-have-time-for-this-shit look. "And yes, I did sleep. A good half hour." Hermione frowned, but didn't push it, shrugging instead.

"Was the sandman kind to you?" Luna asked him, her head tilted like an owl.

Harry shrugged. "I guess. I don't remember." Harry smiled. "How're you feeling, Luna?"

Luna tilted her head in the other direction, pursing her lips. "Good." Luna tilted her head. "You've got butterflies." Harry looked away, biting his lips. "You're afraid they won't like you?" Harry looked at her sharply.

"How did you-"

Luna smiled. "I was afraid people wouldn't like me in Hogwarts." Luna grinned. "But, when in Rome, do as the Romans." She patted his shoulder tenderly. "Because birds of a feather flock together."

Harry thought he knew what she meant. "I don't know how to act like they want me to."

Neville came up beside him, gripping his shoulder. "Just, don't say anything crazy, how 'bout we start with that, yeah?" Neville turned, smirking. Harry grinned, saluting Neville mockingly.

"Sir, yes, sir," Harry nearly shouted, and Hermione sighed.

"Not like that, Evan," She protested, as they followed Luna and Neville into another room. Harry smirked mockingly, barely noticing what was around them, too consumed in his sudden, bitter thought.

"Why not? They want a soldier, don't they?" He asked derisively. Hermione jabbed him in the side, and Harry winced, before freezing when he looked up.

Because they had entered dining room, and they weren't just eating with the Marauders and Lily.

No, the whole freaking Order was here.

"Damn," Harry cursed.

"Damn indeed, Mr. Jameson."


	10. This Impressive Mess I've Made

_**Chapter Ten: This Impressive Mess I've Made**_

Your empty eyes are stocked with nocturnal visions, your cheek's cold and taciturn reflection.

\- Charles Baudelaire

* * *

 **Lily's POV**

Lily glanced at the Order members around her. Not the whole Order was here, didn't want that much people to know of the dimension travellers, just the few that were in court and some extra. Alice, Frank, Lucius, Remus, Sirius, Lily, Dumbledore and James. Severus was here too, though he wasn't there during the trial.

"Should someone get them?" Sirius drawled, leaning back in his chair. Lily rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, they heard a shout from outside, and the four teenagers walked in.

"Not like that, Evan," Hermione said to her companion, sending furtive glances at the adults in the room. Evan didn't seem to notice them as he rolled his eyes.

"Why not? They want a soldier, don't they?" He said it with such contempt, that Lily winced, guilt seeping through her. Evan froze suddenly, eyes widening as they saw them.

"Damn," He cursed, and Lily saw Sirius' mouth twitch. She rolled her eyes.

"Damn indeed, Mr. Jameson," Lucius drawled. Lily saw the teenager's expression darkened as his eyes landed on the Auror.

"You're here?" Evan drawled. "What? The Cruciatus curse didn't scare you off?"

Lucius bristled. "Why you little-"

"I'm sorry about that, M-Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said quietly, and shut Lucius up immediately. Lucius turned to face her, expression only a little shocked. "I-I didn't realize you were on the Light side here."

Lily was watching Lucius carefully. If he was disturbed by what she was implying, he didn't show it. He was tense, but otherwise didn't offer any condolences. He simply nodded, which seemed like a good idea, because Lily didn't know how Hermione would have handled being addressed directly by the man she nearly Crucio-d.

"Wow, didn't think you had it in you to forgive her, Luc," Sirius smirked. Lucius glared at the man, but Sirius didn't seem fazed. "You never forgive _me_ that easily." Lucius sneered.

"That's because you're you," Severus drawled, and Sirius pouted mockingly.

"What's that supposed to mean, Sevvy?" He whined. Lily saw Evan shudder, but he schooled his expression quickly, and she wasn't quite sure whether she had imagined it or not. When Severus didn't answer, the Animagus turned to the others. Lily rolled her eyes when his puppy dog eyes landed on her, elbowing him in the side. Sirius winced. "Jeez, woman! I was only trying to relieve the tension." He pouted.

"Sirius, you're such a child." She smiled fondly at him. Sirius grinned wolfishly.

"But you love me for it, Lily flower," He cooed, ruffling her hair. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course, Mr. Black, but we're here to talk about the war. Specifically, the teenagers here, so kindly, be quiet, if you can," Dumbledore said. Sirius grinned, but didn't apologize. "I know it can be hard for you sometimes," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Sirius pouted, but Dumbledore smiled teasingly at the man, and Sirius rolled his eyes. "Back to business," Dumbledore said firmly, and like the trained Auror Sirius was, he nodded, his expression darkening, maturing. Lily sat up straighter, her eyes landing on Evan, who was frowning, eyes dark. Her eyes raced back to his comment he made when he walked into the room, and she winced.

"I'm at your service," Evan said mockingly, and Lucius turned to him.

"This isn't a joke, boy," He said gruffly, and Evan raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me, Lucius," Evan said grimly. "I know. Dead family isn't _really_ a joke." They were silent.

"So, you have experience in the war?" Remus asked quietly, and Evan snorted.

"Why else would I be _here_?" He asked rhetorically. Hermione cleared her throat.

"What Evan's _trying_ to say-" Hermione glared at Evan, who only grinned sheepishly. "-is we've got a lot of experience in war, and we've lost a lot because of it." Evan's smile fell from his face immediately, his eyes darkening.

"And your willing to do it _again_?" Lily asked quietly. "For us?"

Evan smiled bitterly. "Well, that _is_ why we're here." Lily couldn't argue that. Evan paused, tilting his head, his hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Neville was the Boy-Who-Lived, because of his grandmother's sacrifice, right?" Evan directed his question to Dumbledore, who was studying him carefully, his eyes unreadable. Lily leaned forward in her seat, eager for the answer.

"Yes," He confirmed, and Evan nodded, hand on his chin.

"So young," Evan whispered softly. "Our Boy-Who-Lived wasn't killed until after he defeated Voldemort, just a few months ago for us," Evan informed Dumbledore, expression flat. Lily shivered at the coldness in his eyes.

"He's dead? The Boy-Who-Lived?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow. Evan nodded.

"Yes," He whispered, but there was something about his eyes, something deep and dark that made Lily feel disturbed. "He was my friend."

Lily frowned. "But then why are you the one needed to defeat Voldemort?" Lily asked, confused. "How can you if you're not the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Evan was silent, watching her carefully, before he looked away, out the window, with his jaw clenched. "Because you don't need a Boy-Who-Lived to defeat Voldemort. You just have to get rid of Voldemort's fail safes," He said confidently, back tense and shoulders strong as he turned to face them. There was silence throughout the room, but it didn't last long until someone else cleared their throat.

"Fail safes?" Frank asked. Neville's eyes widened slightly, and he tilted his head. He opened his mouth, but snapped it closed before saying anything, steeling his expression, and glancing down at the ground.

Evan, noticing, squeezed his hand briefly. "You mean you don't know yet?" Evan asked solemnly, glancing over at Dumbledore, who had his hands clasped together with his chin resting on them. Evan paused. "Professor, was Horace Slughorn the potions professor when Tom Riddle was in school?" Lily raised an eyebrow at the mention of Voldemort's real name, and a murmur went through the crowd. Dumbledore looked surprised.

"Yes, he was," He confirmed. Evan nodded, glancing over at Hermione, who was frowning as well.

"Was there a girl that died in a washroom in the school year of 1943?" Evan asked, eyes darkening, and Dumbledore nodded. Evan glanced over at his friends, who all looked quite serious. "Is Ginny Weasley alive here?"

Dumbledore looked concerned. "Yes," He informed Evan. The teenagers looked surprised.

"Really?" Evan whispered, tilting his head. Lily watched as Hermione shot Evan a look, and Evan tensed. It was barely discernable, only detectable to someone really looking, like Lily was. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but then Evan was fine, and he smiled, but it seemed almost forced. And then he was back to his confident façade. "When did Voldemort get his body back?" He asked, voice hard.

Dumbledore frowned. "1995." He studied them carefully. "Same for you?" Evan nodded.

"So, you're not the Boy-Who-Lived in your world?" Sirius asked slowly, and Evan's eyes flashed, before he shook his head.

"No," He said. "No, I'm not." Lily shuddered.

"Then why are you here?" Alice Longbottom asked, her eyes fierce as she looked at the four teenagers. "Why're _you_ here if you're not the person the prophecy is talking about? How does that help us?" Alice was nearly shouting by the end of it, and Frank grabbed her shoulders gently, whispering in her ear. She was sobbing, while Neville, Evan and Hermione were all looking on with shock.

Luna smiled pityingly at her. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth, Mrs. Longbottom," She whispered airily. Alice looked sharply at the girl who addressed her, her eyes narrowing. Luna simply flashed her another wistful smile, before turning back to her companions.

The look of confusion must have been universal, because Hermione sighed, smiling lightly at them all. "We may have come by accident, but we won't be able to leave until Voldemort is dead," Hermione said, her voice hard, fierce, cold. "We're giving you the chance to live through this, a chance that _we_ , and our loved ones, didn't get in our world." She was watching them all, her chin up. "We can do it ourselves, and _you_ don't have to risk everything to this war. We'll do it _for_ you." Hermione crossed her arms, all stubbornness, confidence and a little pride. "What Luna's trying to say, is that we're giving you a chance, a _gift_ , so _don't_ question it. Just take it." They were silent.

James looked up at them, eyes fierce. "You can't expect us not to help you!" He protested, but the teenagers just looked at him with mild disinterest. Luna smiled at him now.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth, Mr. Potter," She said firmly, well, as firm as a person as waiflike as her could be. "We may be the soldiers, but you're _not_ the general." James looked infuriated, and Lily felt her own anger spike as she watched the four teenagers in front of her harden, eyes taking on a military glint.

"This is our war!" She snapped. "The adults in your world may have been fine with children fighting their fight, but we're not okay with it here!" She turned her piercing eyes on Evan, who was the only one that wasn't uncomfortable with her tone. Even Hermione had the decency to look a tiny bit bashful.

"Maybe not, Mrs. Potter," Evan agreed confidently, flashing her a lopsided smirk. "But we haven't been children for a while now." His smirk turned slightly feral. "And we don't _want_ your help. Really that's what it comes down to." He ignored her when she flinched, slightly hurt. "We have to do what we must to defeat him, and _we_ don't want _you_ in our way. Too many people trying to be the leader causes everything to fall apart." Evan paused, glaring at them all, though not in a mean way. It was more of a powerful, and slightly condescending way that made Lily feel a little guilty as she averted her gaze. "Let _us_ lead. Protect _your_ family. Be the defence. We'll be the offence now." Evan studied them all. "And you _will_ listen to us, because defeating Voldemort is the reason we're here. So, let us do what we have to."

The confidence, strength and power that was coming off Evan was almost overwhelming and as he scanned the crowd, eyes hard, no one argued. Yet, no one seemed comfortable with how utterly in control Evan was of the situation, but no one seemed like they were willing or able to wrestle it away from him. So, the adults just watched on with resignation as an 18-year-old took control.

And maybe, no one tried to fight him over this because deep down, they were fine with it. They were fine with it, because they weren't willing to lose more of their children to this war, a war they had tried desperately to keep their children away from. But in the end, their efforts were fruitless, and war still banged on their door and demanded their children, taking their screaming babies out of their arms and swallowing their beloved children whole. Maybe that was why. Maybe that was why, when these young wizards came, promising to end this war and giving them the opportunity to survive the war, their children and all, they didn't protest. Because damn the fact that these teenagers were barely adults, damn the fact that they had suffered through their own war, lost probably as much or more than the adults in this room, damn those facts, because in the end, Lily would choose her children.

She would choose her children over these teenagers, because she loved her babies with all her heart, and if she lost more of her children, she didn't think her heart could take it. Not again. And looking at Frank, Alice, and James, even Sirius and Remus, she knew they thought the same thing.

Lily caught Evan's eye, and something, recognition, realization, flashed in his eyes, and he smiled slightly, his bitter, hollow smile. But then he full out smiled, and nodded, almost smugly.

But then it fell as quickly as it came, leaving in place the look that she recognized belonging to a seasoned soldier, a soldier that had seen too much. His eyes were dead, and she felt a flash of guilt, before her children's faces popped into her mind, and the guilt disappeared, buried underneath her fear and worry and pain.

* * *

 **James' POV**

"So, how come Voldemort only managed to come back until 1995, if your Boy-Who-Lived was dead?" Evan asked, cold and detached, completely business with no emotional connection. James glanced around, her eyes falling on Frank and Alice, Frank's hand on Alice's shoulder as she bit her lip, tears in her eyes.

Neville glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye, before turning to Evan. "Evan," He began, before leaning in and whispering into his ear. Evan frowned and nodded, a guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry," He said, swallowing thickly. "I forgot that this must be a difficult topic to discuss." He smiled gently at Alice and Frank. Alice smiled sadly and Frank shook his head.

"No need to apologize, Evan," Frank said, voice remaining steady, which surprised James.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Another child, his name was Adam, was born on July 31st, 1980. He was a half-blood, and he was another target on Voldemort's list."

Evan frowned. "He didn't exist in our world," He pondered, and Hermione frowned, shaking her head.

"Our Boy-Who-Lived survived," Hermione pointed out. "Theirs didn't. Prophecies are meant to be fulfilled, and if he fit the prophecy, he would be forced to fill the spot." Evan frowned.

"So, since the two others were gone, he was next on the list?" Evan asked, almost in disgust. Dumbledore nodded. "But he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived." Evan's eyes were a mix of emotion, and James frowned, wondering what thoughts were going through the head of his. Dumbledore nodded again.

"No, but he fit the prophecy, as Hermione mentioned." Dumbledore clasped his hands in front of him. "But I guess that makes sense, since you're here to defeat Voldemort, but you're not the Boy-Who-Lived." Evan hesitated, but still nodded his head, and Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. James watched as Evan tensed, expression turning suspicious, but it was gone as suddenly as it came.

"What happened when Adam started school?" Evan asked, and Dumbledore frowned.

"His first year, the defence professor had Voldemort possessing him," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort didn't know of another that could fit the prophecy." Dumbledore paused. "Quirrell was bold, he let in a troll, and it killed a student. When the troll was out, Adam and Ronald Weasley caught Quirrell trying to steal the Philosopher's stone." Evan looked shocked, as did the other three teenagers.

"Who was the student that was killed?" Hermione asked quietly, and Dumbledore sent her an inquisitive look.

"Hermione Granger," He informed her. James wondered if the woman standing in front of them was Hermione Granger as well.

She nodded. "Well, that gets rid of any confusion for me," She stated, not looking disturbed in the slightest. Evan snorted and Neville smiled lightly, while Luna giggled.

"Be a little more sensitive, 'Mione," Evan chastised mockingly, and she sent him a glare.

"Sod off," She hissed at him, swatting him gently on the shoulder. Evan rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Hermione cleared her throat. "That happened the same in our year." She paused. "Except for me dying, of course." Evan's mouth twitched, but he didn't smile, and Neville remained straight faced as well. Luna patted Hermione's hand, smiling wistfully at her.

"Not you, 'Mione," She corrected, and Hermione laughed.

"I know that, Luna," She promised, squeezing the blonde-haired girl's hand tenderly. "Anyways, what happened his second year?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Nothing." That seemed to shock the teenagers.

"Nothing?" Neville asked incredulously. "Who was the defence professor?"

"Me," James spoke up, and Neville's eyes widened even more, Evan choked and promptly started to cough, Hermione summoned some water to give to him, her own eyes wide, and Luna giggled again. Lily raised an eyebrow at the reaction, and Sirius beside him snickered, to which James elbowed him harder than necessary. The Animagus winced, and James sneered, turning back to the teenagers. He mockingly pouted as he saw the incredulity in their eyes, mildly offended. "Why is that so shocking?" James huffed. Evan snorted.

"We just never expected-" Evan waved his hand towards James. "Well, _you_." James raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" He sniffed. Evan raised an eyebrow, still unbelieving.

"I mean, you must remember what you were like in school!" Evan protested. James smiled and Sirius guffawed in laughter, while Remus chuckled softly.

"You heard of us?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. Evan rolled his eyes.

"Well, duh," He stated, as if it was obvious. "You couldn't be friends with Fred and George and _not_ hear about you lot every minute." Evan chuckled, before his eyes darkened and his expression turned broody, before snapping back into his confident personality, leaving James' head spinning. From the look on the other's faces, so did theirs. "So, no mysterious petrification's? No Ministry involvement?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "No," He said, eyes twinkling. "Was there in your year?" Evan nodded. "And I take it by your reaction, James wasn't the professor?" Evan tensed, before shaking his head again.

"No," He said somberly. "We had Gilderoy Lockhart." Evan nearly spat in disgust. The other teenagers didn't look any more respectful. "What a fraud." Evan paused, tilting his head. "Voldemort didn't try anything?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "That makes sense!" She turned to Evan, taking his hand passionately. "He wasn't a Death Eater here, so he didn't slip her or anyone the journal!" Evan's eyes widened. James wondered who the 'her' was, but he had a feeling the Death Eater they were referring to was Lucius. He felt his gut tighten.

"Well, lucky Adam," He mused, a tight smile on his lips. "But that means we have to find that damn, talking journal." Hermione snorted. Evan grinned at her, before turning back to Dumbledore. "Third year?"

James was confused. A talking journal? Petrification's? But after a few seconds, decided not to question it.

"Quite calm." Dumbledore smiled. Evan nodded.

"Makes sense, Sirius wasn't in Azkaban," He agreed. James' eyes widened, wondering why that would matter. "And I assume James was still the professor?" Evan glanced at James, who rolled his eyes, nodding.

"Who did you have?" Dumbledore asked, and Evan grinned.

"Remus," He said happily, before frowning. "But then…well, people found out that he was a werewolf, and ah-" Evan cast a quick look at Lucius Malfoy, but averted his gaze barely a second after. "-well, a Death Eater, who's son went to the school, told everyone, and the parents got angry." Evan cast his gaze to the ground, broody again, before he squared his shoulders, seeming to gather himself, and regain his strength. "Fourth year?" James darkened, feeling the hatred boiling in his gut, and Lily took his hand, squeezing it gently.

"During Christmas break, _Peter Pettigrew_ -" James spat the name, but raised an eyebrow when Evan tensed. But again, the teenager regained composure barely a few seconds later. James sighed heavily, continuing. "He, and Bellatrix Lestrange, attacked Adam's house, killed his parents, and brought him to a graveyard where they used him to resurrect Voldemort," James said, clenching his jaw. But he continued. "When Voldemort dueled him, he won, and Adam was killed." James took in a shuddering breath. "I trained him, taught him, tried to give him the skills he would need to survive Voldemort." He choked. "But it didn't work." James was silent. "The war really started back up then, and I went back as an Auror."

James was tense, and the pain was making his muscles quiver. Lily must have known how he was feeling, because she reached out, taking his hand gently. The boy was his student, and his dad was a part of the Order. All he wanted was to give Adam the fighting chance that he wished Harry had when he was targeted, wished that Neville had when he was targeted. But, it didn't work. He still died, and Voldemort still won.

Evan nodded, before glancing over at his friends, who all had similar, contemplative looks on their faces. Dumbledore studied the teenagers carefully. "Did that happen in your world?" He asked softly.

"Similar," Evan whispered, but his voice still managed to be strong. "But our Boy-Who-Lived didn't die." Evan paused, his fists clenching. "A student did die, and Voldemort still came back to life though."

"How did Voldemort eventually die?" Dumbledore asked. Evan stood up straighter, as if preparing for something big, a performance. He glanced over at his friends, who had matching looks of ominousness.

"Voldemort created things called Horcruxes," Evan informed them, and there was a shock of surprise through the whole crowd, like a ripple that oscillated through the sea of people. "In our world, he created seven. We're going to need a list of all the Death Eaters here, even the suspected ones." He paused, biting his lip.

"Why?" Sirius asked bluntly, and Evan paused, looking away.

"In our world, a Death Eater, who isn't one in your world, had one of his horcruxes," Evan was looking down, but James, who was watching Lucius, knew that the blonde-haired man knew they were referring to him. "So, someone else has it here." Evan quieted for a few seconds, before nodding. "Was Regulus Black a Death Eater in this world?" Evan's eyes landed on Sirius, who stiffened at the comment.

"Yes," He whispered. Evan looked slightly relieved, before tilting his head, turning his gaze on Lucius. James was confused as he saw a strange expression on the teenager's face. But it went away quickly, and he was back to his emotionless mask yet again.

"Why're you not a Death Eater in this world?" He asked bluntly, and James winced, casting a furtive look at Lucius, willing the blonde-haired man to be patient. But he didn't have to do that. Lucius was stiff and uncomfortable, granted, but his eyes were flashing with something akin to guilt. Lucius cleared his throat.

"Severus. I met Lily through him," Lucius said, formal and detached, but kind. Lucius glanced over at Lily, who flashed him a light smile, before he turned back to the four teenagers. "We became friends. Not extremely close, but enough for Severus and me to see muggleborns as equals." Lucius glanced over at James and his friends. "And well, after a few misunderstandings, Severus and I became friends with James, Remus and Sirius." Evan's mouth fell open at that, and James was reminded of the fact that the boy was merely 18. He shuddered again. Despite Lucius' raised eyebrow and curious look, he simply continued. "When my family learned I defected, and my girlfriend at the time, Narcissa, did too, they helped us, and we joined the Order."

There was the sound of something breaking and Evan reacted instantly, spinning around, the two other teenagers stepping closer, in front of his exposed back, a perfectly synchronized fighting stance, protecting Evan and Hermione as they stood there vulnerable, before Neville and Luna realized what they were doing.

Neville blinked a few times, before straightening slightly, losing the hard, volatile look, and Luna's expression changed from her waiflike malevolence back to her peaceful nonchalance. She was no longer protective, but Neville was still ready, poised.

"'Mione," Evan whispered, grabbing her shoulders. Neville glanced behind him, casting one look back at the Order, before breaking position, paying more attention to his friends. Luna continued to stare at them, still relaxed, her hands clasped in front of her. James shuddered, before looking back at Hermione.

His heart broke at the look of pain on the Hermione's face, on all their faces, really. Evan shuddered, pulling Hermione into a hug, his own face pinched in pain.

Hermione whispered something to Evan, and James glanced over at his wife, who had moved closer to the girl, her first instinct to comfort Hermione obviously. James smiled lightly at Lily forever having a bleeding heart. Lily seemed to wince at what the girl said, and glanced over at him and the rest. But it was Luna who spoke.

"Hermione," She whispered soothingly, and gently pried Hermione away from Evan's arms. She looked up at Evan. "I'll help her clear the skeletons out of her closet." Luna sighed, glancing down at the silently shaking Hermione. "And maybe seeing a nicer skeleton will make her feel better." Luna smiled sadly, and Evan nodded, whispering something in Hermione's ear, who nodded, before following Luna out the door.

Just as they were leaving, Luna's hand snaked around Neville's wrist, and yanked him out the door. Neville shot one look at Evan, who's eyes had widened slightly, body tensing, before the three were gone. Evan was stiff, but after a few seconds, he relaxed, a confident look back on his face, even when it looked forced.

He frowned slightly. "You and Severus?" He asked Lucius incredulously, only slightly derisive. Lucius sneered. "Friends with the Marauders?" He turned to the Marauders. "But, weren't you…you liked Snape?"

"What?" James growled teasingly. "First you mock my profession, now you mock my choice of friends?"

Evan turned broody, the opposite of what James though his reaction would be. "I'm sorry," Evan murmured. "It's just-" He swallowed thickly. "It's just a surprise, that's all." Evan was silent.

Sirius sneered. "You gonna make it, or do we have to guess?" Sirius asked, placing a condescending hand on Evan's shoulder. James smacked Sirius upside the head when Evan turned to face the Animagus and glared, sending the dog a scathing look that could freeze Hell over. Sirius cast his gaze away sheepishly, and Evan shuddered, before closing his eyes, breathing heavily, yet remaining close to Sirius. Neither moved away, and James raised an eyebrow.

"So, Regulus was a Death Eater," Evan asked dryly, and Sirius gave him a tight-lipped frown, nodding as he studied the teenager. "Is he dead?" Evan had his eyes cast to the ground, and James glanced over at the others, who were all watching the boy carefully. Sirius froze, shaking slightly.

"Yes," He snarled lowly, tone dangerous. James watched as Evan flinched, jerking away from Sirius, his eyes snapping up to him, leaving James wondering why Sirius' simple answer caused such a violently scared reaction in Evan. The boy opened his mouth briefly, before closing it with an audible click, his eyes going hard, and his spine straightening, seeming to grow in strength. And then they softened.

"I'm sorry," Evan murmured, eyes darting to Sirius cautiously. Sirius, who no doubt saw how Evan reacted to his tone of voice, seemed to darken some more, his eyes hooded.

"That's the price of war, Evan," Sirius muttered darkly, and James saw as Evan paled, tensing briefly. But, like every time before, the teenager relaxed seconds after, and he returned to his confident façade.

"Of course," Evan agreed, his eyes darting to James, and swivelling over to Lily, his eyes flashing with something James couldn't identify. It made him shiver.

* * *

 **Remus' POV**

"H-Evan," Hermione said as she walked back in with Neville and Luna, her eyes bright, but she was tense, strong, and it disturbed Remus, seeing how controlled her emotions were. "I'm sorry." Hermione frowned, nodding towards Lucius. "I-" She paused, glancing away. "I just needed a few minutes." Lucius nodded towards her. Evan squeezed her hand. "What are you telling them? Are you still on Horcruxes?" Evan watched her carefully and then his mood shifted, not back to his confident mood, no it went all the way to his unstable façade.

That worried Remus. No teenager should be able to switch like that. But, like he told them, he wasn't a child, he was a war veteran. And that saddened Remus even more. Evan's eyes took on a strange sort of gleam, and his hollow, bitter smile graced his lips. Remus hated that smile as he knew everyone else in this room did too.

"Apparently, R.A.B was a Death Eater here too, and he's dead." Hermione frowned, as if she wanted to say something, but only nodded, keeping quiet. Evan turned to them. "You all work in the Ministry, right?" He glanced at James, Lily, Sirius and Lucius in turn, remembering Alice and Frank as well, flashing them a grin.

"Yes," Lily said, seeming to be the only one who could respond, as she sent him a skeptical look. "Evan, we were the ones arresting you." Evan waved her off, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I was just making sure," He said in exasperation, sighing. He paused, putting his hand on his chin. "So, then, the government isn't under Voldemort's control?" Evan looked slightly disappointed. Remus glanced over at the Aurors, who were narrowing their eyes at the slightly insane boy they just gave control to.

"No, Fudge is still Minister," James corrected, and Evan blanched. Evan turned to Hermione.

"Guess we're not breaking in there anytime soon," He said sadly, and she glared at him, rolling her eyes. Evan's eyes widened again. "I wonder if that pink bitch is here too?" Hermione and Neville stiffened, a look of pure hatred coming on their faces, while Luna smirked happily. Remus felt sorry for whoever the 'pink bitch' was for being the person that made these teenagers have such extreme expressions of hate on their faces.

"I hope she is," Luna said merrily. "Then Hermione can sacrifice her to the centaurs again!"

Evan full out guffawed. "Yes!" Evan quieted, studying the Aurors carefully. "So, you all value your jobs, right?" Sirius and James exchanged looks, and Lucius raised an eyebrow. Remus studied the boy.

"Yes, they do, Mr. Jameson," Dumbledore promised. "So, don't plan on breaking the law."

Evan waved them off. "Pssh, how do you except to get anything done?" He asked incredulously.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You're talking to 6 Aurors here, kid," Sirius tried to chastise, but knowing Sirius, he was trying his hardest to stop himself from laughing.

"Yeah, yeah," Evan scowled. "We haven't broken the law yet, so you've got nothing."

"Yet," Severus repeated dryly. Evan grinned happily. Remus felt dread creep into his bones.

"Yet," He agreed, and Hermione sighed, whacking him up the back of the head. Evan barely flinched.

"Evan, we _only_ broke into the Ministry in our world because Voldemort was controlling it," She snapped. "This world's government isn't corrupt." James raised an eyebrow, and Sirius snickered. Remus rolled his eyes. Evan pouted. "No, Evan, we're going to do it the legal way." She leaned towards him, and he frowned. "That means no breaking and entering, no Polyjuice potion, and no sacrificing people to centaurs." Evan's eyes widened.

"No sacrificing!?" He asked in disbelief and Hermione glared. Sirius did laugh this time.

"No sacrificing!" She shouted back, and Evan huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Where's the fun in that, 'Mione?" He asked rhetorically, throwing his hands up. "Besides, just you watch. We're going to fuck it up, and we'll sacrifice her to the centaurs again. Just you watch." Hermione glared, and Evan grinned. They continued to stare at each other, and Remus knew they weren't going to respond anytime soon.

Sirius glanced over at his friends, chuckling softly, but quieted when he saw Remus raise an eyebrow, and that James and Lily weren't laughing. Sirius shifted uncomfortably, but Remus knew he wasn't sorry he had laughed. Remus glanced over at James, and rolled his eyes, James looking like he wanted to laugh too, only controlling himself because he knew Lily would be angry if he did laugh. Sirius grinned at them, years of friendship allowed them all to know when the others were barely holding it together.

"Is there a story to this?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. The two teenagers in a stare off didn't answer, and Neville sighed, turning to face the adults.

"Slytherin, that is, Salazar, had a locket," Neville informed them, taking on the leadership role, the one Evan was currently unable to fill, what with his manic mood. "Tom used it to create a horcrux." Hermione broke her gaze away from Evan, who was stiff and with a glance, Remus knew he was back in soldier mode. Remus' head spun.

"Originally, it was in a cave, where-" She paused, glancing over at Evan, who had his jaw clenched. "It was nearly impossible to get it, not without extreme suffering." She paused, frowning. "Regulus, in our world, and since your Regulus is dead, I assume in this world as well, retrieved the locket. He died, we don't know how, but he got it, and he had planned to destroy it." Hermione frowned. "Mundungus Fletcher took it, and then Dolores Umbridge-" Evan broke in then.

"Evil bitch," He snarled. Hermione ignored him, but didn't chastise either.

"-somehow got her meaty hands on it," Hermione informed them. "Did Grimmauld Place become Headquarters? And was Mundungus Fletcher a part of it? And does Dolores Umbridge even exist here?" She looked at Dumbledore, who nodded.

"Why do you all hate Dolores Umbridge?" Alice asked quietly and all four teenagers darkened.

Except for Evan. He grinned. "She was our defence professor in our fifth year," He informed them. Evan lifted his hand up, and Remus glanced at the teenager as his fingers rubbed the scars on his hand. "She liked using a blood quill as punishment, and when she caught me trying to contact someone, she tried to use the Cruciatus curse on me." Evan's eyes were gleaming. "Because of that, 'Mione tricked her to go into the Forbidden Forest and she insulted the centaurs, calling them half-breeds, which was why they attacked." Evan grinned, before frowning. "She ran the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, and sadistically persecuted many innocent muggleborns when Voldemort was in power. She's in Azkaban now." Evan's jaw was set, grim faced.

"She's pretty much the same here," Remus said softly. "Not the muggleborn thing yet, or Hogwarts, but she's firmly against 'half-breeds' as she calls people like me." Evan softened, frowning. He caught Remus' eye, and Remus was shocked to see the empathy in a boy he barely knew. He smiled slightly, and Evan smiled back.

"Can you see if she has a locket when you go to work?" Hermione asked, turning to James, and the others. There was a glint of mischievousness in her eyes, and Remus shifted nervously. "And steal it, if you can?"

"How do you propose we do that?" Lily asked, and Hermione grimaced, while Evan smiled.

"Well," He began, happily. Remus sighed internally. How much time must they waste on this boy's moods? Hours, so it seemed. Remus could feel his hair greying. "We used Polyjuice potion to disguise as Minister workers, and we snuck in, snatching the locket straight from her neck, before escaping." Evan nodded. "It was very fun."

Hermione glared. "No, it wasn't," She chastised. Evan pouted. "And, no matter how much you _want_ to, we're not doing that again." Hermione crossed her arms. "Especially since we're surrounded by 6 Aurors."

Evan pouted. "Aw, next your going to say we can't free the poor dragon!" He whined and Luna giggled, while Hermione shoved him.

"We don't _want_ to run into the dragon again!" Hermione corrected. "Why would you want to? Remember last time? It took near a month for the burns to heal!" Evan shook his head sadly.

"But it was so inspirational when we broke him out, when he finally got to fly and taste _freedom_!" Evan waved his hands around, a strange smile on his face. Neville grinned, patting Evan on the shoulder.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Evan," Neville cautioned teasingly. "You won't be able to break into the Ministry here, let alone _Gringotts_." Evan grinned. Remus' eyes bulged and he glanced at his friends.

"Is that a challenge?" Evan asked derisively, and Neville chuckled.

"You'd be the only one to thinks it is, Evan," Neville said fondly, and Evan smirked. Remus sighed.

"I take it there's a story here, too," Severus asked dryly, and Evan nodded enthusiastically.

"For some reason, Tom liked to fuck up the Founder's heirlooms by putting himself into them," Evan explained, as if that made any sense. "He used Helga Hufflepuff's cup, and gave it to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault." Evan shrugged. "We broke in to Gringotts, and stole the cup." Evan paused, rubbing his chin. "The goblins use a dragon as security, and it was very sad. It was thin and mistreated." Evan, oddly enough, looked empathetic for the dragon, broody almost. Something stirred in Remus, and he shifted nervously. "We rode it out of Gringotts, and destroyed half of it." Evan was grinning now, but there was still something in his eyes. "And that was how we freed it." Dumbledore had his head on his hands again, watching Evan closely.

"And you need access to the vault again," Dumbledore guessed, and Evan shrugged, studying his nail beds.

"Yeah," Evan agreed nonchalantly. "But don't worry yourselves. We can get into it like we did before, if you can't get in for us." Evan shrugged, and Sirius snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, and they'd just arrest you after," Severus drawled, and Evan sneered, eyes flashing.

"If they could catch us, and the dragon," Evan smirked. "Like Hermione said, the burns from that dragon were horrible." Evan shrugged, grinning madly. "I figured y'all were done with getting burned trying to catch criminals." Evan watched with eager delight as cries of protest broke out through the room. Remus simply raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that the teenager was only trying to rile everyone up. He caught Evan's eye, smirking, and Evan grinned back, saluting him. Remus sighed.

"Merlin, guys, for being renowned Aurors, you lot have a hard time knowing when someone's pulling your leg," Remus chastised, and Sirius smirked, throwing an arm around Remus' shoulders.

"Thanks, Moony," Sirius cooed, nuzzling his neck. Remus rolled his eyes, shoving the Animagus away.

"So," Evan asked slowly. "Are you gonna get the locket _and_ access to Bellatrix's vault, or should we break in?" James scowled at Evan.

"Yes," He muttered, and Evan grinned.

"Great!" Evan waved his hands. "Meeting dismissed!" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Not just yet. You still need to tell us the other Horcruxes," He began, but Evan waved his hand at him.

"No, we don't," Evan said, unwavering and powerful. " _We're_ doing it without you. We just didn't think it would be in either of our best interests if we were to break into the Ministry and Gringotts." Evan grinned at them. "That's all we need from you lot." Evan shrugged. "You don't even have to come with us to her vault. Just give us access and we'll go by ourselves." Remus was shocked, and so were the others.

"No, you won't!" Lily protested. Evan frowned.

"No offence, Mrs. Potter," He nearly sneered. "But we don't want you there. We will do it ourselves."

James butted in then. "We can't let you risk your lives!" He shouted. Evan raised an eyebrow.

"We've done it before, and we can do it again, with or without your help," Evan said coldly. "We did it before _without_ you there, what makes you think we need you now?" Evan shrugged. "We don't even need you to get us access. We could just do what we did before." James was shaking.

"You won't, because we're Aurors, and we know what you'd do," He threatened. Evan raised an eyebrow.

"But you won't stop us," Evan promised, flashing his teeth. "You won't, because deep down, you're glad you don't have to fight anymore. You're glad that it's us." Evan turned his back on them. "And we're fine with that. Because we have to fight, and we will." He turned back one last time. "It's out of your control, Mr. Potter. We're just giving you control over whether we break in, or do it legally." Evan's eyes darkened. "But you're not the leader."

And with that, the four teenagers left, before any of them could do anything to stop them.


	11. Like an Empty Sail

_**Chapter Eleven: Like an Empty Sail**_

Believe me, every heart has its secret sorrows, which the world knows not.

\- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* * *

 **Lily's POV**

"What the hell was that?" Sirius growled, hitting the wall. Dumbledore was sitting, eyes twinkling.

"That, Mr. Black, was a soldier taking control of the fight," He said, and Lily knew Sirius was angry. She was angry too. These children just thought they could come here, _threatening_ to break the law, and hope that the Order would back them up? And do it all themselves, with no help?

"Well, we have to take the control back!" Sirius protested, waving his hand towards the door that the four teenagers had just exited. "They're going to destroy everything!"

Dumbledore only smiled, clasping his hands in front of him. "But we won't, my boy," Dumbledore said amusedly. "Like Evan said, they're here to defeat Voldemort." Sirius huffed and Lily frowned.

"We can't just expect these children to fight our war!" She objected, and Dumbledore sent her a sympathetic frown, eyes glittering.

"They're not children, Lily," Dumbledore corrected, and Lily darkened. How dare he! Couldn't see how broken these teenagers were? It didn't matter how old they were, they were broken, and in pain.

"Maybe not, but they're hurt!" Lily shouted. "Can't you see how _fucked_ up it is for a teenager who's barely an adult to flip through those moods so often? To act crazy because that's the only way for him to deal with the grief? To _enjoy_ risking his life?" Lily was fuming, and she swore, which she normally didn't do unless she was very angry. She could feel the eyes on her, but she ignored them.

"We're not forcing them, Lily," Dumbledore said calmly. "I think this meeting is done."

Lily looked outraged. "It isn't done, Albus!" She snapped. "We didn't agree to let them do this!"

Dumbledore smiled at her, like a teacher would smile at a naïve child. "I don't really think we have a say in whether they do it or not, Lily." He sat back in his chair, staring at them all, shifting between the Marauders, Lily, Lucius, Frank and Alice, eyes twinkling. "I think you'd want to get them access or they're going to cause a lot of trouble for you in the Ministry." Lily darkened.

"You're just going to let them walk all over us? Threaten us?" She hissed, and Dumbledore sighed.

"They have valuable information about how we can destroy the Dark Lord," Dumbledore said quietly. Lily glanced over at her friends, face pinched. "We need that, Lily, we need to kill him." Lily was silent as well, her and Alice looking at each other, both tense. Lily felt her heart clench, seeing the agreement with Albus in Alice's eyes.

And, deep down, Lily agreed too.

"Yeah, I know," Lily murmured, before turning back to Dumbledore, eyes flashing. "But we're _not_ going to let them do it alone." Dumbledore opened his mouth, but Lily held her hand up. "With all due respect, Albus, we can't just let them risk their lives, or let them get away with their threats."

Dumbledore was silent, studying her, before nodding. "Very well, Lily," He agreed. She stared at him for a bit, before nodding. With that, Dumbledore stood up, disappearing in a flash of green flames.

Severus was frowning. "Does he really completely trust those kids?" He asked incredulously, eyebrow raised as he turned to the others. Sirius shrugged.

"We all agreed a long time ago that Albus isn't all there," Sirius drawled, smirking. Lily smacked him.

"Sirius!" She scowled. "Don't disrespect him like that!" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come now, Lily!" He whined. "We're trusting these slightly insane children with our lives! With Ren, Calla and Winslow's future!" Lily saw Alice shiver out of the corner of her eye, and Lily stiffened.

She wanted her kids to have a future. She wanted that so bad. And these _teenagers_ promised that, allowed for her to be there for her kids. And no matter what she said before, deep down she knew it didn't matter to her in the end. Because in the end, only her kids mattered. Besides, they were 18, they could handle war a lot better than fifteen-year old children could. Or, at least, that was how she justified it to herself.

"They're not children, Sirius," Lily muttered darkly, and Sirius frowned.

"You just said-" He began.

Lily scowled. "I know what I said," She interrupted. "They're young, yeah, but they fought in their war and won. They're not children anymore." She darkened. "But I'm tired of risking _my_ children to the war."

James put a hand on her shoulder. "Lils, I know, but still-" He paused, frowning. "We can't ask that from them." He didn't sound so sure, though and Sirius sighed.

"James, we aren't," Sirius said. "They're volunteering, and like Hermione and Luna said, we shouldn't look horse in the gift." Lily's mouth twitched.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," She corrected. Sirius ignored her, simply stuck his tongue out. Lily rolled her eyes and turned to her husband. "They don't want us to question it, James."

James sighed. "I know," He agreed. "But it still feels wrong, and we don't know them. How can we trust them to make the right choices?" Lily was frowning, and Sirius shrugged.

"They're not your kids," Sirius chirped. "Why should you care?" James opened his mouth, but no words came out, and he snapped it close, his jaw clicking. "Look, all we have to do is get them access to the Ministry and Gringotts. That's _all_." Sirius glanced between all of them, and Alice cleared her throat.

"We can get them access to Bellatrix's vault if we have a warrant to search it," She pointed out, her eyes flashing. "I can pull some strings and get one." Lily glanced at Alice, knowing she only had that power because Bellatrix was one of the Death Eaters that killed Neville.

"How're we going to help them steal the locket?" Frank asked. "We can't just walk in and tear it off her neck like they did in their world." Sirius frowned, glancing at Remus, who was always the smart one.

"We can trade her for it," He suggested. Sirius nodded.

"I can find something in Grimmauld place," He agreed, glancing at Remus, who was nodding. "If the woman is content with a horcrux as an accessory, any dark object will do." He sneered.

"All right, sounds good," James agreed. "Alice is in charge of the vault, and Sirius, you get the locket." Everyone seemed to agree and James turned to Alice and Frank. "Are you going to stay? You can get to know the four travellers properly. They're meeting Calla and Ren too."

Frank glanced at Alice, who shrugged. "Why not? Theo isn't expecting us back until 9." She agreed, but there was a sort of strained smile on her face, Lily noticed. James turned to Lucius and Severus. Severus nodded, while Lucius frowned, shaking his head.

"I don't want to stress them out anymore than I have already," He said coolly, and Lily frowned, noticing how tense the Auror was. The others did too, and James frowned.

"What do you think happened to them?" Lily whispered. Nobody responded. She sighed.

"Well, Evan was tortured," Sirius pointed out. "And we can assume Hermione wasn't very-" He glanced at Lucius, who was frowning, looking away. "-happy with the Lucius in their world."

"By her reaction to why I'm not a Death Eater," Lucius said casually. "We can assume that we-" He jerked his head towards Severus. "-weren't friends with you guys." Severus nodded.

"Probably," Lily said, looking down at the ground, before she glanced at her friends around her. "It's crazy to think that we're all friends, we all care for each other, because of coincidence, and not because it was _meant to be_."

James pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "That doesn't invalidate our friendships, though, Lils," He assured fiercely. Lily pulled away, smiling up at him. James smiled down at her, before turning to Lucius. "And that doesn't mean _you_ are a bad person. Your counterpart is. But _you_ aren't." James paused. "And I think Hermione's already beginning to see that."

Lucius sighed. "Yeah, I know," He said. "I still don't think I should put her in any more distress."

James studied him a bit more, before nodding. "Of course, Luc," He murmured, and the blonde-haired, reserved man, stood up, making his way to the fireplace. "See you next meeting." Lucius nodded, then disappeared. James turned to Severus. "Sev? You going to stay?" Severus shook his head.

"Can't. I have work to do," He apologized, and raised an eyebrow. "You really trust them with your kids?" By the looks on all the other Order members faces, Lily knew they were all secretly wondering the same thing.

James sighed. "I don't know yet," James admitted. Lily looked sharply at him. She did. "But we're all going to be there, 5 Aurors, and all Order members. They're not going to do anything."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Besides the fact that they already threatened to break the law," He pointed out, but smirked. "At least you should make sure that there aren't any candles on the table." Ouch. More burns.

Sirius smirked, throwing an arm around Severus' shoulder. "Glad you worry about us, Sevvy," Sirius cooed, ruffling the man's hair. Severus scowled, pushing the Animagus' hand off.

"Shut up, Black," He snapped teasingly, rolling his eyes. Sirius only grinned, and Severus walked over to the flames, disappearing as it flashed green. Sirius clapped his hands.

"Well, some one ought to get those four troublesome teens," Sirius chirped. "Remus and I will go off and force them to come back." Sirius strode off, dragging the werewolf by the wrist, out the door, whistling happily, before anyone could stop him.

"Should we really let him get them?" Frank glanced out the door. Lily sighed, slightly concerned, but more exasperated and amused. "We might never see him again." James smirked.

"Sirius is tough," He drawled. "The prat will figure it out." He smiled in what Lily knew was the rare mischievousness that she wished he would outgrow.

"I think it'll be interesting," Alice said, an amused smile on her face.

Lily was still staring out the door, frowning. "Let's hope it isn't _too_ interesting," She said cynically. She glanced down at her wrist, checking the time, before sighing.

"What do you think is taking him so long?" Alice asked, glancing out the door. She glanced over at Frank, eyebrow raised, and Frank sighed, glancing over at James, who sighed.

"Alright, alright, we'll find them," James grumbled, strutting out the door with Frank trailing behind. Alice turned to Lily, studying her carefully. Lily glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, mouth twitching into a smile.

"Hi, Alice," Lily said amusedly. "What's up?" She was still watching her. Lily shifted uncomfortably.

Alice finally looked away, out the door. "How are they?" She asked Lily quietly, eyes still glued to the door. "What's he like?" Alice looked sharply at Lily, who was frowning, biting her lip.

"Neville, you mean?" Lily asked lightly. "Alice…" Alice's eyes darted to the ground.

"I know, Lils," She said. "It's just-his name's Neville." She smiled softly. "And he's exactly what I wanted my Neville to be like when he grew up." Alice looked up, eyes watering. "Is that so wrong?"

Lily bit her lip, glancing out the door. "I don't know, Alice." She frowned, eyes dark. "They're not our kids."

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

"Harry," Hermione hissed, and he ignored her, eyes focused strictly ahead of him. He heard her huff, and then she was in front of him, hands on his chest, pushing him back. "What the hell was that?"

Harry scowled. "What did you want me to do, Hermione?" He asked harshly. "I don't want to risk them."

Hermione glared. "So, you want us to do it ourselves?" She scowled. "You want _us_ to risk it?" She shook her head, slapping his chest. "Why must it always be _us_? Why can't you just accept their help?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Last I checked, you were agreeing with me," He sneered, and Hermione glared.

"Because I didn't think they _wanted_ to," She bared her teeth. "But now we know they do, yet you won't let them." She glared up at him. "Why? Do you have such a martyr complex that you refuse help from _anyone_?"

Harry clenched his jaw, looking away. "You don't understand, Hermione." He could feel her eyes boring holes into him, but he ignored her.

"No, I don't understand," She hissed angrily. "So, tell me, then. Why are you so content with doing it all by ourselves, again? Why can't you take the offer?"

"Because I know what it's like to lose them!" He hissed, and Hermione's eyes widened. "I know what it's like. They're _alive_ here. And if they fight with us, they're at risk of dying. I can't be the reason they do. I can't be the reason these kids lose their parents." He paused, looking away. "And when we start fighting, it's going to get intense. There're going to be times where we must do bad things. I don't want them to see me do them."

"Harry, it's war. They can't really judge you for it," Hermione said quietly. She paused, glancing up at him. "Is that why you're using your alias? Because you're afraid of what they're going to think?"

Harry stared at her carefully, before nodding. "They won't want anything to do with me, not once they learn about what I've done," He whispered, glancing down at his hands. Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Have a little more faith in them," She murmured, and Harry sighed.

"I can't, 'Mione," He said firmly. "They're only going to know me as Evan Jameson. And they're not going to help." Hermione glared, and Harry glared back. "I can't be the reason they die. Not again."

She softened. "Oh, Harry," She whispered pityingly. "But they're not necessarily going to die." She took his hand, squeezing it gently. "We need their help, Harry. Everyone we loved died last time. If we do it all by ourselves again, we're going to die." Harry studied her, before looking away.

"I don't want you guys to die either," He murmured, glancing over at Luna and Neville. Neville smiled softly at him, and Luna grinned, skipping over to him to take his hand.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, Harry," Luna pointed out, and Harry sighed. He loved his friends. He really did. And they were why he lived, why he was happy. He couldn't risk them because he wanted his parents, or, his parent's counterparts, too. It was war, after all.

"Fine," He agreed. "But we can do the horcrux hunt ourselves. When it comes down to the final battle, then they can help." Harry glanced at them all. "I don't want to lose you guys because I was selfish."

Hermione hugged him tightly. "And you won't, Harry. We're not going to leave you."

Luna squeezed his hand. "Come hell or high water, Harry, we're never going to leave you," She agreed, and Harry smiled. Neville came up then, gripping his shoulder fondly.

"And don't you forget it, Harry," He demanded, and Harry turned, smiling softly. Neville frowned. "Weren't we supposed to have dinner with them?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess. We were going to meet their kids, too," He reminded them and Hermione shot him a furtive look. Harry shrugged again. "I already met one. Ren."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "When?" She asked skeptically, and Harry's eyes darted to the ground.

He swallowed. "When I was in court," He murmured. Hermione only tapped her foot.

"I'm sorry, what?" She sniffed, and Harry glared at her. She only smirked.

Harry scowled. "When I was in court," He said dryly, and Hermione rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"And I still think what you did was stupid," She chastised, and Harry pouted.

"Yeah, I know, 'Mione," He said, equally as exasperated. "You've told me already." Hermione glanced at him, grinning, and he smiled softly at her, bumping his shoulder into hers.

"Well, are we-" But Hermione was interrupted.

"Are you the people my parents are letting stay?" A girl's voice called out, and Harry froze, Neville stepped to their sides while Hermione spun around to face the new person. Luna was the only one who remained where she was, rolling her eyes. "Woah, what'd I do?" Hermione glanced at Harry, but he couldn't find his voice. But Luna did.

"Absolutely nothing," Luna replied cheerily. "They're just too caught up being soldiers to realize that not everyone is an enemy." The girl studied Luna for a bit, before smiling back.

The girl flounced up to her, holding her hand out. "Calla Potter. I'm 15," She introduced herself. Harry clenched his jaw, feeling his eyes darken, and he felt Neville grip his shoulder tightly.

Luna smiled. "My name's Luna," She introduced herself. No one spoke after that, Harry looking between Hermione and Neville.

"Are you guys going to introduce yourself?" Calla drawled, and Harry glanced at Hermione, who sighed.

"Hi," She murmured. "My name's Hermione Granger." She forced a smile, which Calla completely believed. "Nice to meet you." She tensed only briefly when she shook the younger girl's hand.

Calla turned to Harry. "You look like my dad," She stated, and Harry tensed, eyeing her warily. "But you have different eyes." Harry didn't say anything, shrugging instead. "Are you a Potter?" Harry paused.

"No," He disagreed. "My name's Evan Jameson, not Potter." He smiled softly. Calla nodded, before smiling brightly, taking his hand. Calla studied Neville then.

"You kind of look my dad's friend, Frank," She stated, and narrowed her eyes, staring at Neville. "But Frank has blonde hair, and blue eyes, not brown hair and brown eyes." Neville shifted uncomfortably, and Harry glanced at him, smiling sympathetically. "What's your name?"

Neville winced slightly. "My name's Neville Alliston," Neville said flippantly. The name didn't shock Calla, which Harry was glad to know she probably didn't even know the full story about Neville's counterpart.

Calla simply beamed brightly. "Come with us, you can see the living room," She said cheerily. Harry glanced at Hermione, who shrugged, following the girl. Harry sighed, before reluctantly following. He didn't really want to meet _more_ Potter children. They entered the room. "Hey!" Calla shouted, and one more kid came over, the girl that Harry met in the interrogation room. "The guests are here." The girl grinned.

"Oh. You again," The maroon haired girl said. She turned to the other three. "My name's Ren Potter. I've already met Evan." She turned, shaking his friend's hands. Hermione glanced at Harry, who sighed, shrugging. Ren turned, grinning at Calla. Luna studied them carefully.

"Are you twins?" She asked, and Ren grinned, throwing her arm around Calla's neck. Calla rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Ren smiled. "My built in best friend." Calla smirked but didn't disagree.

They were silent after that. Harry glanced at his friends. He didn't say anything, not knowing what to say. What does one say to their not-siblings?

Calla flopped down onto the couch, legs hanging over the arm rest, her hand flung across her face. "When do you think dinner will be ready?" She whined. "I'm starving." Harry winced at the wording.

"I doubt you're really _starving_ ," He teased lightly, and Calla stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's a figure of speech, Ev," She said exasperatedly. Harry blanched.

"Ev?" He asked weakly. Calla didn't notice his discomfort, simply smirking at him.

"Yeah," She chirped. "You're nickname." Harry shook his head, but remained quiet, and his eye caught Ren, who was watching him perceptively. Harry tilted his head, surprised that the mischievous girl was the observant one. It was a new side to her, one that Harry was surprised she didn't show in the interrogation room.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked him, and Harry simply shrugged, casting his gaze onto Neville, eyes pleading. Neville raised an eyebrow, but came to his rescue anyways.

"So, what house are you in?" He asked. Ren tore her gaze away from Harry.

"You know about the houses?" She asked. "We've never seen you at school before."

Harry shook his head. "Nah, we went to school in America, trying to avoid the war and all." Ren nodded, looking away. "But we've read about the Hogwarts houses." Ren looked up, flashing a brief smile.

"I'm in Slytherin," She said, eyes flashing, as if daring Harry to recoil in disgust. He only nodded. Ren studied him for a bit, before continuing. "At first, I was scared, because my mum and dad were both in Gryffindor, and I thought they'd think I was evil. But then they wrote me and told me how proud they were, and I was okay." Calla put her hand on her twin's shoulder. Ren smiled, patting Calla's hand gently. "It was quite funny, really."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Why?" He asked, curious again. Calla laughed.

"Because I'm in Gryffindor," She smirked. Harry tilted his head at that.

"What're house rivalries like?" He asked, and Ren smiled, glancing at Calla, who laughed again.

"Pretty small," She admitted. "Granted, there're still the stuck-up purebloods, but in my parent's time, they were friends with other houses. Lucius and Severus were Slytherins!" She giggled. "So, really, people are much more open nowadays, and Ren's pretty powerful with the Snakes."

Harry was astounded. So, the house rivalries could have been better if _his_ father wasn't such a prat? It was one thing to see that Severus was friends with his father and mother, another to see that Lucius was too, and just icing on the cake to learn that house rivalries were being torn down, all because the James in this world wasn't a prat. Although, Severus was a little more open minded in this world as well. Harry's head spun.

"I'm pretty sure that you weren't supposed to bother the guests," A new voice drawled, mockingly angry. Harry flinched, turning around to see Sirius and Remus strolling up to them. Ren saw them too, but simply pointed at Calla. Sirius grinned and Remus raised an eyebrow. "A little birdy told me that it was _Calla_ who disobeyed, was it?" Calla barely acknowledged the voice, not turning around.

"The little birdy should know I'm the _favourite_ goddaughter, so ratting me out won't get me in trouble," Calla said smoothly, turning to grin at her godfather. Sirius laughed, mussing up her hair affectionately. Calla rolled her eyes, pushing him off.

"Well then," Sirius teased. "I guess I can't tell your parents that you defied them, can I?"

Calla blinked innocently, and Harry recognized the manipulative gleam in her eyes from the courtroom. "They said we can't _bother_ our guests. We're not. We're introducing ourselves."

Sirius paused, before smirking. "Touché," He said before turning to Harry and his friends. Harry eyed Sirius carefully, noticing how his eyes had darkened slightly. "So, you met them then, eh?"

Harry could only nod, before swallowing thickly. "Yeah," He said, forcing himself to smile. He cleared his throat. "Do you want us to come back for dinner?" Sirius studied him for a bit, before nodding.

"Yeah," He said. "We were looking for you to bring you back." Sirius glanced over at Ren, and Calla. "You two are coming too, by the way."

Ren smirked at her godfather. "So, you're not going to tell on us, are you, Uncle Sirius?" She asked.

Calla smiled. "Of course, he isn't," She chirped. "He _was_ a Marauder, not a rat." Harry winced at the word, and he saw out of the corner of his eye, Remus watching him carefully. His gaze darted away, over to Sirius instead.

Sirius grinned. "Nah, Ren, you're fine," He grinned, before turning to Calla, eyes gleaming. "Calla, though, she _was_ the one who started it all, wasn't she?" Sirius grinned at Calla, who glared at him in turn.

"I'm hurt that you'd accuse me of that," She said, appalled, even going as far as putting her hand over her heart. Sirius chortled.

"Calla, you do have a reputation," Remus pointed out gently, and Calla frowned, staring up at the werewolf. "You _and_ Ren." Remus looked pointedly at Ren, who only shrugged, smirking.

"Exactly, Uncle Remus," Ren agreed enthusiastically. "We can't have anyone thinking we're slacking off on our civic duties, now can we?" Calla grinned, high fiving Ren.

"There you are!" Harry heard someone else say and he tensed briefly, glancing over at his father's counterpart. James' gaze landed on him, and Harry narrowed his eyes challengingly. But, surprising to Harry, James simply smiled, leaving Harry floundering. "You met them already?"

Calla grinned, throwing her arm around Harry's shoulder. Harry tensed, flinching slightly. Calla sent him a bemused look, but ignored his flinch, turning back to her father. "Yep. Ev and I are tight," She chirped.

James raised an eyebrow and Harry caught his eye, before his gaze darted away, looking at Hermione instead. She sent him a sympathetic frown, and Harry clenched his jaw, before glancing over at Neville, who was subtly sending glances over to Frank. Harry touched his hand briefly, and Neville glanced at him, smiling lightly.

"You okay?" Harry whispered, and Neville nodded.

"Yeah," He said gruffly, before glancing back up at his father's counterpart, eyes hooded. Frank turned to them, catching Neville's eyes, his own eyes widening, before looking at the others.

Frank smiled. "Hi," He greeted them politely. Neville nodded towards him, Hermione smiled softly, and Harry glanced between the two of them. Luna beamed brightly.

"Hello, Mr. Longbottom," She greeted happily, taking his offered hand eagerly, shaking it vigorously. Frank's eyes widened slightly, before he smiled again.

"You know me?" He asked quietly, and Luna nodded enthusiastically, before frowning.

"My name's Luna," She greeted. "And yes, at home." She tilted her head. "I think I'd like to get to know _you_ , though." She smiled softly. "You're not stuck in your Labyrinth here," She reached out, tapping Frank's forehead gently. "There's no thread at home to lead them out." Luna simply shook her head. Hermione was pale, and she grabbed Luna's shoulders gently, guiding her away from the silent, shocked older Longbottom.

"We don't really know you, exactly," Hermione said slowly. "But I'm pleased to meet this you." She smiled lightly, and Frank cast one more look at Luna, who was now standing beside Neville, whispering something into his ear. Harry figured it was something good because Neville was relaxed, shoulders down and a trace of a smile on his face. Frank glanced at Neville, a bemused expression on his face, before turning back to Hermione.

"Hi," He greeted. "Frank Longbottom," He said politely, and Hermione forced a smile.

"Hermione Granger." She turned, pointing at Evan. "You know him." She sent him a look, and Harry rolled his eyes. Frank chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yes, I do," He agreed, before silencing and looking back at Neville, a pensive look on his face. "Are you-are you our Neville?" There was something in his voice that made Harry's heart clench, and he glanced over at Neville, who was stiff, though only noticeable to someone focusing, watching Frank carefully.

But Neville's face was a perfect mix of confusion and sympathy that a stranger would have. Neville gave nothing away, and Harry didn't know if he was sad or not that Neville wasn't going to get to know his parents, wasn't going to give himself the chance to know them by hiding who he really was.

"No," Neville said, pity in his tone. "My name's Neville Alliston."

Frank gave him a weary smile. "Oh, I'm sorry," He ducked his head. "You just-my son was named Neville." Neville nodded, smiling softly at the man. "He died." Neville patted the man on the shoulder lightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Neville said genuinely, and Frank smiled, before shaking his head.

"No, it's fine," He said quickly, before quieting down. "It was a long time ago." Calla, and Ren were no longer there, off with Sirius to find Lily and get dinner, and the remaining adults fell into a pensive silence.

Harry knew, what with his parent's counterparts losing this world's Harry, Frank and Alice's counterparts losing Neville when he was four, Neville with his tortured parents that never recognized their own son when he visited, and himself, losing his parents as a baby, and everyone else, that they all knew that time going by didn't matter. Time didn't matter, because in the end, nothing could fill the big _fucking_ hole that was in them. All time did was fill it up with lead, and the hole just grew heavier.

No, Harry knew, and he knew everyone else did too, that time didn't mean a fucking thing.


	12. Want to Drown My Sorrow

**_Chapter Twelve: Want to Drown My Sorrow_**

A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick.

-John Steinbeck

* * *

 **James' POV**

James glanced over at Frank, who was still watching Neville. James glanced away, at the four teenagers, and his eyes landed on Evan, who was frowning, eyes flashing.

And James knew, much like he himself knew, that Evan knew that time didn't matter. The ache he felt whenever he glanced at Evan was enough of a reminder. He shoved the pain away.

"Alright," James said, glancing around. "Let's go get dinner." And, as if that was a trigger, Evan smiled, eyes flashing with another emotion that wasn't there before.

"Great, I'm starving," He licked his lips. "I haven't eaten in 2 weeks."

Remus choked. "2 weeks?" Evan bared his teeth into a smile, before tilting his head.

"Well, I had a few scraps of bread and stuff. Granted, it wasn't _nice_ bread, but it was food nonetheless, and I lived," Evan said, shrugging. "Eventually, your stomach shrinks, and you don't _need_ as much food." James was shocked, and he glanced over at the three other teenagers. Luna was frowning sympathetically, patting Evan on the shoulder, and Neville had a pained expression on his face. Hermione looked equally sad, and angry, and James was sure he and his friends looked pretty much the same. Evan paused, glancing at them all, before wincing. "I'm sorry, I forgot things like that could be upsetting," He apologized hurriedly, and again James watched as his mood flipped and he sunk into himself shamefully, like he had committed a horrible offence for coping in the only way he knew how, which was brush everything off with manic nonchalance.

James wondered who had made him feel that a little mistake warranted such self-hatred.

He smiled softly. "It's alright, Evan," James assured, and Evan glanced over at him, eyes hooded, before nodding, glancing out the window. James reached out hesitantly, but sighed, letting any doubts go and placed his hand on Evan's shoulder, squeezing it briefly.

Evan flinched, and James' heart clenched. The teenager turned to the older man, eyes wide. James smiled briefly at the teenager, who frowned, before sending him his own small smile.

"Let's go get food," Frank suggested, and Neville glanced over at Frank, who caught the boy's eye. James felt something prickle in the back of his mind. Luna smiled, glancing around at her friends, before walking over to Evan, slipping her thin, pale hand into his tanned, rugged hand.

"Let's go, you're no longer in Tartarus," She chirped. "You can reach the fruit now." Evan made a face.

"Don't compare me to _him_ , Luna," He whined, glancing over at Luna, who was watching him solemnly. "I already told you. I'm not the son." Luna smiled. "I'm _not_. Besides, it wasn't their fault." Luna shook her head.

"No but that doesn't make you any less Pelops," She insisted. "Tantalus isn't them, but you don't need a Tantalus to be Pelops. The world provides you with a good enough reason." She patted his arm gently, but Evan was still white as a sheet. "Don't worry, Evan, the grass may not be greener here, but the beach is way cleaner."

Evan took on his miserable look, eyes glinting almost madly, and James fidgeted nervously. "It's not home though, Luna," He nearly whined, and Luna giggled.

"Maybe not," She agreed. "But the ghosts here aren't new, Evan! In fact, we don't know any of them!" She smiled, taking both his hands. "Isn't that great?" James felt horrified at what she said, what it implied, and Evan didn't seem any more assured, his face quite pale. James glanced over at Remus, who was watching the two teenagers carefully as well, his face pinched with concern.

Neville was already at Luna. "Luna, not right now," He murmured, pulling her away from the hyperventilating Evan. James could see him descending into his mind, his confused, grief-stricken mind, and James' heart broke. Evan glanced over at James, eyes dark, before glancing at Hermione.

"'Mione," He said pleadingly, and she placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Luna. The blonde winced, smiling apologetically at Evan.

"Oh, Ev, I didn't mean it," She promised, taking the boy's hand. Evan took in a shaky breath.

Hermione walked up then, placing both hands on Evan's shoulders. "Evan," She said warningly. Evan frowned. "Pull yourself back together. We're all fine, you're fine." Evan inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes, tensing.

When he finally opened his eyes again, they held a confident, determined glint, and James knew the teenager had reeled in the madness. "Alright," He said hoarsely. Hermione studied the boy a bit, before nodding. She turned to James, eyes dark as she glanced between the three adults.

"So, are we going have dinner or not?" She said, polite, but with an almost snide undertone. James felt a flash of irritation, before reminding himself how foolish it was to be annoyed with the unstable teenagers.

"Yes," He agreed, and nodded at his friends. "You guys go to the dining room. I'll go help Lily make the dinner." Evan looked up, face pinched, but his eyes were bright, confident.

"We can help too," He offered, and James shook his head, smiling.

"No, it's alright," He reassured. "Go sit down. Chat with Frank and Remus. We'll be fine." James saw Evan's eyes dart to Neville, before he smiled lightly.

"If you're sure, I'm not going to argue," Evan laughed. And he was back. Evan placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, who was watching him carefully, frowning. Hermione seemed to shake herself, and she sent a brief smile at James, before turning to Neville and Luna.

"Alright," She agreed, a tentative smile on her face.

James watched the four teenagers walk away with his two friends in confused fascination, before shaking his head. He wasn't even going to pretend he knew what they were thinking anymore, not even going to try and predict their behaviour. Even if he was an Auror, almost all the criminals were less shifty than them.

Sighing, James walked out the opposite direction, heading back to the kitchen. "Heya Lils," He greeted, and Lily turned, Alice glancing over as well.

"Where's Evan and the others?" She asked. "You were supposed to get them."

James glanced surreptitiously at Calla, who just stared up at him, blinking. "Our resident pranksters were bothering them," He said firmly, and Calla huffed, crossing her arms.

"I was not!" She protested. "We were introducing ourselves!" James sighed.

"Okay, okay," He said exasperatedly. "Go help your sister set the table." Calla narrowed her eyes, before rolling them snootily and marching off, no doubt angry that she was brushed off again. James rolled his eyes, mouth twitching at his daughter's dramatics, before turning back to his wife.

"Where're they now?" She demanded, staring at him accusingly. James sighed.

"They're with Remus and Frank," He reassured her. Alice's eyes widened, body jerking.

"Frank's with them?" She asked quietly. "With-with Neville?"

"Al," He started cautiously. "He told us his name." She turned to him, but didn't speak. James studied her for a bit before sighing, glancing down at the ground. "His name's Neville Alliston. Not Longbottom." Alice didn't react, but James saw something in her eyes that made him feel oddly guilty. "I'm sorry, Al-"

She smiled at him, shaking her head. "I know, James," She whispered. "I just-I just hoped, is all." Lily smiled sympathetically at her friend, taking Alice's hand gently.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Al," Lily promised, squeezing the woman's hand. James swallowed thickly, recognizing Lily's own pain in her eyes. It hurt him too. The boy hurt him, the overwhelmingly valiant, but utterly broken young man, who was the spitting image of himself, with Lily's eyes. And that was enough to dig up the feelings that had long been buried, reminding them both of their Harry who had been lost all too soon.

And they needed them to go somewhere. They needed their feelings of loss to be abated. They needed this strange man to tell them that he wasn't fucked and that his life wasn't controlled by misery, because he looked like their son, he looked like what they imagined their tiny little baby boy would have looked like, and it was killing them that the grief-stricken, and angry man was what their innocent son could have grown up to be.

They needed the man to be Harry, but he wasn't. He wasn't theirs, not even in an alternate reality.

Yet, he was still here, and they found themselves still hurting, still hurting over the fact that they missed out on seeing their little Harry grow up, grow up into another young man with black hair and green eyes.

But their Harry's green eyes wouldn't have glowed with grief-stricken madness and his hair wouldn't have been matted and unkempt, and his body wouldn't have been tortured and abused. He wouldn't have been this broken man, a man that had suffered through the very things they fought so hard to protect their children from, things they wouldn't have wished on any versions of their children.

Yet, this person, this person who was a man, but in so many ways, still a child, had suffered through it all. And he wasn't theirs. He wasn't theirs to fix.

He was Evan Jameson, not Potter. And he didn't even look like them through it all, not really. His eyes were a brighter green, especially when they glowed with madness and grief, and his hair was lighter than James', his nose wasn't as narrow, and he wasn't as tall. He was thinner too, but, by what they had seen when Evan was being healed, could have been due to starvation. He wasn't theirs, wasn't even theirs in another universe. He was simply a muggleborn wizard with black hair and green eyes.

And James knew, from the pain gleaming in her eyes, Alice felt the same way for Neville.

"C'mon, dinner's ready," James informed them, plating the salad he had just finished making. Lily blinked a few times as she placed the chicken onto a plate, before nodding. Alice picked up the bread basket and James grabbed the broccoli. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the bottle of wine clutched in Lily's free hand. His wife narrowed her eyes warningly, and huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"What? God knows we'll need this," She said defensively, and James chuckled, kissing her on the head.

"Hey, I wasn't judging you," He protested. She only smiled at him as they entered the dining room, placing the wine onto the table. "We're going to need it dealing with the twins and four traumatized teenagers." He smiled half-heartedly, but he knew Lily didn't particularly like his dark humour.

As evidence, Lily's face only darkened. "This is going to be hard when-when they look the way they do, won't it?" She looked up at him. James could only stare back, but he did grin darkly.

"Who said it was going to be easy?" He retorted, and Lily genuinely looked like she was about to cry now.

"It should be," She snapped, clenching her jaw, hand tightening around the neck of the bottle. "Fucking hell, it should be easy, after-after everything." James quickly placed the salad down, pulling his wife into his arms.

"I know, Lils, I know," He soothed, before holding her in front of him, staring at her intensely. "And I know it hurts, but we have to hold it together. For Calla, and Ren. And the dimension travellers too."

Lily stared at him for a bit, before nodding, inhaling deeply. "Where're the kids?"

James nodded towards the living/dining room and Lily inhaled deeply, before walking over to the dining room. James hesitated, debating whether to go with her, but she was already through, the kitchen door swinging on its hinges. He sighed, praying up to whoever was above to make this dinner bearable.

* * *

 **Sirius' POV**

Sirius sighed. "How fancy does your mum want this dinner?" He complained, folding the napkins haphazardly and placing them down with no set plan. Calla followed behind him, redoing everything, and he smirked, glancing over at her. Calla sent him a glare.

"Do it right, Uncle Sirius," She chastised. "You know how neurotic my mum can be." Sirius burst out laughing. Calla sent him a smirk, blue eyes flashing, and Sirius ruffled her hair.

"Don't let your mum hear you saying that," He warned, and Calla pouted.

"It's true! She's super neurotic when it comes to guests," She whined. "Do you know how much we have to clean when mum has people over?" She shot a glare at the door leading into the hallway, as if her glare could travel through the house to wherever the world travellers were. Sirius knew she'd certainly would be the one to do it, if it was possible. "What's so great about them, anyways? They don't look like Ministry officials."

Sirius stiffened, glancing at the door as well. "No, but that doesn't mean they aren't special," He smiled at her. Calla sighed, studying Sirius.

"Why?" She asked, and Sirius smiled, grabbing her shoulder.

"I think we're good here," He chirped, glancing over at Ren, who looked up when she heard his voice, eyes hopeful.

"Really? Oh, thank Merlin," Ren sighed, glancing at the living room. "Can we watch the telly?"

Sirius crossed his arms, staring hard at them, before nodding. "Why not?" Calla grinned, and the twins all but ran into the room, leaping onto the couch. "Why do you even have a telly anyways?" Ren shrugged.

"Mum likes the muggle programs," She said simply, flipping through the stations so fast Sirius was getting a headache. Sighing exasperatedly, he snatched the remote out of her hand. "Hey!"

But before they could do anything else, James, Lily and Alice walked into the dining room. Ren pouted, eyes darting between her parents. Lily raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the dining room, and Ren sighed.

"C'mon, mum!" Calla whined. "We just started watching the telly!"

Lily continued watching the twins but spoke sharply. "Go sit down." Calla sighed, obeying. Ren simply smirked, not one to admit defeat, sauntering back into the dining room.

"Alright, Ma," She sniped, and Lily glared at her.

"No mouthing off," Lily warned, ignoring when Ren threw her hands up in the air, and Calla sat down as well. James stood beside Lily, squeezing her shoulder, and Alice went to sit down. Sirius didn't like the tension in the room, or the pained arc of Lily's shoulders, the quiet Alice and the brooding James.

He made his way over to his friends, picking up the bottle of wine. "Nice choice, Lily," He appraised before leaning closer. "Cheer up, yeah? Don't want our dimension travellers to pick up on anything." He gave them pointed looks, and, as the trained Aurors they were, they straightened up, faces going smooth.

Sirius flashed a smile, before walking into the hall, looking around for Frank, Remus and the four teenagers. No one there. Sirius frowned, walking down to the sitting area facing the beach.

"They moved here after Harry died," Sirius heard Remus say. The four teenagers remained silent. "The house in Godric's Hollow was too painful, and they needed something…fresh." He paused, and no one bothered to fill the silence, but before Remus could continue, Sirius butted in.

"Um, Remus?" He asked tentatively, and five pairs of eyes darted over to him, two in a relaxed manor, confident in who they thought was talking, three in a cautious, hostile manor, and the last pair of eyes wasn't even looking in his direction, staring out at the sea.

"Is it dinner now?" Luna asked, still staring out at sea. Hermione broke eye contact, and glanced over at the blonde-haired girl. Luna turned to look at Sirius, smiling. "Because I'm hungry, and so is Evan."

Sirius cleared his throat. "Yeah," He said gruffly. "Yeah, it's ready." Luna clapped her hands.

"Great!" She turned, grabbing Evan's hands, hauling the stiff boy to his feet. "C'mon, clear those cobwebs out of your brain and put on a nice suit!" Sirius shook his head quickly.

"No, you don't need-" He began, but was cut off by Hermione.

"That isn't what she meant," Hermione snapped, before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black. I didn't mean to be rude."

Sirius tilted his head, glancing at Remus. 'Mr. Black?' He mouthed, and Remus shrugged. Sirius frowned, turning back to Hermione. "Please, call me Sirius." Hermione didn't look at him, nodding slightly.

Neville shifted from foot to foot, before smiling, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "So, what's for dinner?" He asked confidently, and everyone seemed to relax at his calm voice.

Sirius smiled. "Come along and see." Sirius smirked, and Neville grinned softly, before following into step beside Sirius. "Lily is a wicked cook, and James is even better."

Neville licked his lips. "Nice," He said happily. "Hermione and I are rubbish at cooking, and we don't trust Luna enough in the kitchen." The blonde-haired witch pouted. "H-Evan's great at cooking, but he hasn't done it a lot since everyo-well, since everything." Neville was only broody for a second, before snapping back into a confident smile. Sirius glanced over at Evan, who was standing stick straight, eyes hard, but he was smiling lightly, however forced it looked. "But we're really looking forward to dinner, and it's beautiful here."

Luna bounced on the balls of her feet. "Very beautiful! It'll make the food go down nicely since we don't have to hurry." Luna paused, studying Sirius carefully. "Right?"

Sirius didn't quite know what to say. "Right," He agreed hastily and Luna's face burst into a smile. "Here we are." Sirius reached out, opening the dining room door.

Alice, James and Lily were already seated, as well as the kids, and Sirius glanced over at James, trying to read his emotions. But the Auror was good at hiding his emotions, and Sirius got nothing from him.

"Took you long enough!" Ren chirped, and Lily glared at her.

"Enough," She snapped before turning to the four teenagers, smile taut. "Why don't you sit down?"

Sirius glanced at the four teenagers, nodding towards the chairs, and Evan was the first to move, sitting down beside Lily, Hermione sitting down beside him. Luna took the seat next to her, facing Sirius, who avoided making eye contact with the mad girl, and Neville sat down beside Luna, Remus on his right. Good, Remus could keep them calm. The rest were scattered in the empty seats.

Before they could eat, a ringing went off in Alice's pocket, and she took out the wizard equivalence of a cellphone, glancing down at it quickly before frowning. "Oh, Lils, I'm so sorry, but we've got to go!" Alice apologized, biting her lip as she glanced up at Lily. "Theo just called. Olivia's got a bad case of the flu, and she's throwing up and he doesn't know what to do," Alice glanced over at Frank, who nodded, standing up with his worried wife. Frank glanced over at Neville.

"Nice meeting you," He said quietly, glancing at the rest of the dimension travellers as well. Lily glanced quickly between them, before nodding.

"Oh, that's fine!" She reassured. "Go, if your kids need you." Alice smiled.

"Thanks for having us, Lils," She apologized again, hugging her friend. "It does smell delicious."

And with another quick wave, they disappeared through the fireplace in the dining room and were gone.

Ren sighed. "Now can we get eating?" She whined, and Lily sent her a glare.

"Guests first," Lily reprimanded, before turning to the four dimension travellers. Evan smiled lightly.

"It looks good," He said, his stomach growling. Evan blushed, and Lily smiled, serving him generous helpings of all the foods. Evan frowned, glancing at Hermione, who smiled reassuringly, taking his plate and replacing his with hers. "Sorry, Mrs. Potter, I can't eat that much after star-well, being where I was. My stomach can't handle it." Evan was staring at the ground, and Sirius glanced over at Lily, who was looking incredibly guilty.

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry," Lily said hurriedly, filling up his plate again, this time with small portions. Evan continued to look down at his plate, but smiled softly.

"Thank you," He murmured, and the three other teenagers watched as they served themselves before taking some food. Evan didn't even take a bite until everyone had food on their plates.

"Here, Siri," James said, pouring him a glass of wine, and Sirius smirked, taking a sip. James grinned, pouring himself a glass, and Sirius watched as he then turned to Evan, offering. "Do you drink, Evan?"

Evan was silent, studying James and Sirius carefully, eyes darting between the two of them and the wine. "Not really," He shrugged, but touched his glass lightly, holding it out. "I'll have some, though."

"Are you sure?" James asked carefully. "You don't need to."

Evan grinned. "It might help me loosen up." Sirius snorted.

"Merlin knows you need to," He teased, and Evan smirked, a reaction Sirius was not expecting.

"It might even be good for me," Evan smiled, chuckling softly, and Sirius stared at the boy, trying to figure him out. The teenager wasn't touching the wine, despite having agreed to it, and Sirius found it odd as he sipped on his own wine, noticing as Evan's eyes continued to dart over to James and him. Sirius didn't know why, but it caused something to stir in his gut, and he didn't like the looks he was receiving.

"So," Calla started after a few minutes of silence. "How're you liking our home?" Evan looked up, glancing over at Hermione, and Hermione glanced over at Neville, who glanced over at Luna. Luna smiled at her friends, all too eager to answer the question.

"It's oh so beautiful!" Luna chirped happily. "Even though there's no castle, it's still very magical, and the beaches are nice and white." She glanced around the room. "I love the house, especially the clean carpets and empty closets." She grinned. "And there isn't a dungeon, which is always a perk." Lily choked on her drink before the room fell into a dead silence.

Sirius swore he could hear the crickets.

* * *

 **Lily's POV**

Lily shot a glance over at James, her eyes wide, and brain racing to find something to say. James didn't respond, watching the four teenagers carefully. Lily glanced at her daughters. Calla only looked slightly interested, which Lily knew she did to hide her worry and unease, and Ren was biting her lip worriedly, glancing between the adults in the room.

Hermione elbowed Luna in the ribs and Evan full out laughed. "Damn, Luna," He said, eyes twinkling. Lily felt nervous. "What she's trying to say is that the last house we were in that was this big and fancy was Ma-a manor." Evan immediately darkened. "People died," He said coldly, before taking a bite of chicken. Lily immediately felt uneasy, and with a glance at her husband, she knew he felt the same. "Hmm, this chicken is delicious, Mrs. Potter!" Evan blurted out, and glanced over at Lily, who floundered to gain composure.

"It was actually James who made it," She finally managed to choke out, forcing a smile. Evan frowned at her display, and he sighed heavily, placing his fork down.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly. "I keep forgetting that these facts about us upset people." Evan laughed wryly. "We aren't trying to insult you. Your home is very beautiful, and kind." Evan smiled softly at her and James. "And we needed some beauty in our lives when we came here." Lily was still in shock, so James cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Evan," He said gruffly. "And thanks for the compliment." Evan grinned lightly.

"Thank you for having us here," Evan said genuinely. "I've never been to the beach before."

Calla looked up then. "Really?" She asked in astonishment. "Not even for a visit?"

Evan's eye twitched, but he smiled. "No, I lived in Surrey," He said simply, as if that was an excuse. Lily didn't like the eye twitch, and she felt vaguely familiar with Surrey, for whatever reason.

Ren didn't seem to think it was an excuse. "Surrey isn't too far from the ocean," She commented, taking a bite of her salad. "Couldn't you have driven, or whatever muggles do?"

Evan glanced over at Hermione, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess, but they never took me," Evan said, shrugging again. Ren studied the teenager, before nodding. Lily felt her gut tighten even more at the mention of the unknown 'they', who she assumed were Evan's guardians. Then, why no familial titles, no affection when he talked about them? Lily had a tickling suspicion that it had a lot to do with the condition Evan's body was in.

"Well, you can go down to the beach now," Calla pointed out, smiling. "The water's bloody freezing now that it's winter, even if we don't have snow, but we usually build a bonfire and roast marshmallows." Sirius laughed, and Lily glared at her daughter.

"Calla, language," She chastised, and Calla sighed, looking at her.

"Can we go down to the beach tomorrow?" She diverted. "We don't have any plans, do we?" Lily was quiet, contemplating. Not that she didn't trust the four teens, she just didn't trust that her kids would leave the four of them to their own business. The nosy buggers never quite learned discretion. She blamed James and Sirius for that.

"Well, we have work, so it'd just be you guys," Lily gave in, and Calla smiled.

"That's fine," She enthused, glancing at the four teenagers. "You're all what, 18?" Evan hesitated, but nodded. Calla smiled. "Alright, so we should be fine." She glanced over at Lily, who had the look she always had when she knew she was losing. "They can handle themselves around a fire." Evan chuckled quietly, and Lily rolled her eyes, glancing over at James and Sirius to see them scowl, while Remus simply chuckled as well.

Luna grinned. "Don't worry, Mrs. Potter," She said cheerily. "We've been around our fair share of fires, and survived." She frowned at Evan. "Pretty much."

Evan grinned, rubbing his arms. "Dragons just seem to love me, Luna." Evan shrugged. "Not my fault."

"Dragons?" Ren asked in amazement. Evan nodded, smiling lightly. Lily prayed he wouldn't tell her what really happened. She and James hadn't quite decided what they were going to tell the kids just yet.

"We were-" He glanced quickly at Hermione, who was giving him a look. "-travelling in Romania, visiting our friend who's a dragon tamer, and we ran into a…hostile dragon." Hermione snorted, but muffled it as a cough.

Ren frowned. "Your friend works with _dragons_?" She asked incredulously. "What kind of friends do you have?" Evan seemed to darken a bit, but managed to keep it contained.

"We had great friends," Evan said simply. Lily frowned, noticing the past tense. Evan didn't seem to want to talk anymore, taking a sip of wine, and promptly started to choke. Sirius chuckled, Lily sent him a glare, and gave Evan a glass of water. "Sorry, I don't really drink." Evan smirked lightly.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "What? Partying wasn't your thing?" She drawled, and Evan grinned.

"We got in different kinds of trouble," He promised, smirking at Hermione, who titled her head in a haughty manor. Evan laughed at her, and she huffed, flicking her hair.

"Yeah, and every time I saved you boys before you could kill yourselves," She sniped, and Evan pouted.

"Hey! How about the time you were petrified?" Evan protested, and Hermione narrowed her eyes. Petrified? "We did it all by ourselves then." Lily was shocked, and glancing around, the others were too.

"Dumb luck," She sniffed, providing no recognition. Evan snorted, shaking his head.

"Alright, 'Mione, me and Ron needed you." Evan darkened slightly, but forced a smile. Calla looked shocked.

"Petrified?" Calla asked in astonishment. Evan shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, smirking lightly. "Rough year."

"How old were you?" Ren asked, leaning on her hands as she put her elbows on the table. Lily refrained herself from telling her daughter off.

"12," Evan said, taking another bite of chicken. Evan shrugged. "Hermione got petrified because of an accident in class, but me and Ron saved her." Lily spluttered, and everyone else all seemed shocked. How the hell did Hermione manage to get petrified? Calla's eyes widened, and Ren frowned.

"What kind of school does magic that can petrify people?" She asked in mild disdain. Evan laughed.

"An American school," He said simply, and Ren shrugged it off as if that explained everything.

"Was every year that crazy?" Calla asked in awe. "And did you get in trouble?"

Evan grinned. "Our headmaster liked us, so no, not a lot." He glanced at Hermione. "And yes, every year." He smiled. "First year we had this crazy professor who tried to steal a-" Hermione sent him a look. "-thing belonging to the headmaster." Lily noted he didn't mention the stone, and she sighed in relief that she wasn't going to have to worry about having to explain dimension travel to her children. "The second year there was the petrification."

Hermione butted in then. "Third year we had an issue with an escaped convict and fourth year we had a crazy competition that a student died in." Evan took over again, eyes dark.

"Fifth year our headmaster was kicked out of the school, we had a Nazi as the defence professor, and my godfather died. Sixth year our headmaster died, and we didn't go to seventh year," He stated.

Calla frowned. "Your godfather died?" She asked quietly, and Evan nodded solemnly.

"I made a mistake, and he paid for it," Evan said stiffly, looking away. Hermione took his hand, squeezing it gently. Evan clenched his jaw, before flipping into another mood so fast, Lily felt a headache coming. "Anyways, how crazy have your years been?" Ren and Calla grinned.

"Pretty crazy," Ren bragged. "Not as much as yours, but nearly as much."

"Yeah, all crazy because of you guys," James laughed, smiling proudly. Lily fought the urge to scold him for encouraging their daughters. He turned to Evan, as if to explain. "They like to prank people. Not always nice ones either." Evan grinned.

"We had friends like that," Evan chuckled softly. "They were twins, always getting into trouble."

"We had twins like that, too!" Calla said in astonishment. "Fred and George Weasley. They graduated a while back, and now they own a joke shop." She stared into space dreamily. "It's so cool."

Evan didn't look like he thought so. His expression was dark, grief-stricken, and he nodded slowly. "So cool," He murmured, glancing over at Hermione, who caught his eye, equally as haunted.

Ren studied them. "What's wrong?" She asked them in concern. "Do you not like jokes?"

Evan smiled softly. "No, we do," He reassured. "Just, we lost the twins we knew a few months ago."

Calla flinched, glancing down at her hands. "Oh, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Evan shook his head. "Don't be," He smiled. "Not like it was your fault, anyways." Calla smiled softly at him, before glancing down at her hands again.

"Did you lose them because of the war?" She asked quietly, and Evan stiffened, before nodding slowly.

"Yeah," He whispered. "Yeah, we did. We've lost a lot of people, actually." Calla winced.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" She started.

Evan cut her off, shaking his head. "S'not your fault, no need to apologize." He went quiet, and Lily looked down at her plate, glancing over at James, who caught her eye, frowning. The table was plunged into stiff silence.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry hated pity. He hated it from the bottom of his heart. He loathed seeing it on other's faces, and loathed hearing their sickly-sweet words of obligated condolences and seeing their shaking heads, as if to say _can you believe what that boy has gone through? I couldn't imagine. Anyways, when were you going to tell me about him/her?_ And off they'd go, sucked into their own lives that didn't suck as much as his, forgetting the passing comment of pity that didn't do well for either him or themselves.

Harry didn't know why he told her. Why he said it out loud in front of six strangers at that. He looked down, avoiding the inevitable pitying expressions and shallow survivors guilt that every well-wisher always had, the _I'm sorry this happened to you, and I feel bad that I haven't suffered as much as you have because_ you _suffered, but I'm still glad it wasn't me_. It was in everyone, and Harry couldn't fault them for it.

He sighed, glancing over at Hermione, who obviously noticed the tension as well. She reached quietly over to take his hand, squeezing gently. Harry glanced quickly around him, noticing that everyone else had similar faraway looks in their eyes, as if reminiscing about their own memories of loss.

Suddenly, Calla chuckled, and Harry felt a wave of shock run through him. "Well, this is depressing," She stated calmly, glancing at everyone with an eyebrow raised. Harry raised an eyebrow, mouth twitching, and saw Lily open her mouth. But it quickly snapped shut when Harry started to laugh. Her eyes widened in shock, and Harry made eye contact with her when he looked up between his chuckling into his plate, trying to muffle them.

Harry felt he needed to explain. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't laugh," He choked, mouth twitching. "I know it's not funny, it's just-" He inhaled deeply, before smiling softly. "We're so used to receiving pity." He grinned across at Calla, who laughed, smiling back. "It's nice having someone who doesn't react like that."

"Well," Ren chirped, sending a look at her sister. Harry noticed the conniving part of her personality, probably one reason why she was placed in Slytherin. "Calla isn't known for her sensitivity." Ren smirked teasingly, elbowing Calla affectionately. Harry felt a stab of jealousy, but he shoved it down with as much force as he could, not just shoving it away, but obliterating it into wisps of smoke, floating out of him like a tea kettle. He was sure everyone could hear it. "What with being a Gryffindork and all." Ren snickered, and Calla sneered.

"At least I'm not a _snake_ ," She said haughtily.

"Is that the best you've got?" Ren smirked.

"Oh, give up already, Ren, you're embarrassing yourself," Calla sniffed, tilting her chin. "We all know _I'm_ the favourite."

"Yeah right," Ren snorted.

Before anyone could continue, Lily interrupted. "Alright, enough, you two!" She scolded lightly. Harry watched Lily soften. Would his mother have been as lenient as this world's Lily was? Or would he have caused her too much of a headache? Lily chuckled, shaking her head. "You're all great."

James laughed then, glancing over at his family, such love on his face that Harry felt another stab of jealousy, but like before, he shoved it away hard, clenching his jaw briefly to get control of his emotions.

He had already decided he wasn't going to be a part of that. He couldn't be a part of that. It wasn't his, and no matter how much he wanted it, no matter how much he needed it, it would never be his.

And Harry needed to accept that. And he did.


	13. No Dress Rehearsal

**_Chapter 13: No Dress Rehearsal_**

They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. Such is the strangeness of the human heart. I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once

\- Yann Martel

 **Lily's POV**

Lily glanced over at her daughters, who were sipping their hot chocolate quietly, observing the conversations happening between the four teenagers and the adults in the room, hoping for some scraps of conversation that they could lap up and then later use as negotiating material.

But, of course, there'd be none of that tonight.

"Girls," Lily said firmly, not open for any discussion. "Bed time." Calla and Ren opened their mouths to protest, but one look from James got them quiet. Lily made eye contact with James, mouth twitching.

Calla nodded. "Alright," She sighed, standing up to hug her dad. Ren, albeit reluctantly, followed suit. After James, Lily hugged her daughters, and if she held them longer than they were used to, none of them commented. She pulled away from Ren, guiding the girls gently to the door.

"Straight to bed," She instructed teasingly. "I don't want any eavesdropping through the door."

Ren smiled broadly. "Us? Eavesdrop? I'm offended you'd accuse of us such things." She put her hand over her heart in mock pain, and Lily rolled her eyes, pushing her daughter out the door.

"Oh, you've been caught enough times for us to accuse you of eavesdropping," Lily tittered, shaking her head in teasing exasperation. Calla grinned, coming over to kiss Lily on the cheek gently.

"That's only because we let you catch us," She explained, before grinning brightly. "We can keep ourselves from being caught." She shared a sly look with Ren, and Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think this is a challenge you lot have to overcome." Lily brought her wand out and cast an impenetrable charm. The looks of disappointment on Ren and Calla's faces were too comical, and she laughed. "Alright, bed, all of you." This time, she did usher the two girls out, Ren giving her one last kiss on the cheek, before, teasing each other the whole way, heading down the hallway to their rooms.

Someone cleared their throat. "We don't mind if they hear what we talk about," The teenager said, and Lily turned, eyeing the dark-haired teenager. The boy was watching her, face expressionless, cold. Hermione's eyes darted between her friend and Lily, before nudging Evan, who closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again with a gentle smile on his face. Lily merely blinked, too confused at the exchange to respond immediately.

"It's more for us, really," Lily finally said. She felt her heart clench. "The girls don't know much about the war that is happening." Her eyes darted away from Evan and over to her husband. James took her hand immediately. "When we had the twins, we had already lost Harry to the war, we didn't want to lose them as well."

Evan's expression was unreadable. "You mean they have no idea about what's happening with the war at all?" His tone was guarded, and Lily felt like fidgeting under his almost reprimanding gaze.

Lily hesitated, before jutting her chin out. What right did this boy have, judging how she raised her kids? "Yes, if we can help it," She said firmly. Her eyes turned fierce, a mother lion protecting her cubs. "War is not something my fifteen-year-old daughters should be worrying about." Evan studied her, losing his judgemental look, but what replaced it wasn't anything Lily was anymore fond of. Pity. She hated it, with every part of her being. Her eyes turned hard. "They're not strong enough."

Evan sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe not, but they must be strong enough, even if it's hard," He cajoled, and Lily felt her anger spike for reasons she was unable to pinpoint. He ignored her look, continuing with his unwanted words of wisdom. "Voldemort, when he comes, will not be merciful." Evan glanced away at the wall, jaw clenching, and Lily, for some reason, felt an almost maternal protectiveness bloom in her from the look on the boy's face. She glanced at James, who was frowning, studying the boy as well. He shrugged when he saw her looking.

Remus was the one to break the silence. "What's your world like?" He asked quietly. Evan froze, glancing at Hermione, but before they could speak, Luna answered.

"Empty houses and hollow eyes," She said somberly, and Lily felt a shiver race up her spine. "But a phoenix is being born from the ashes." Hermione scanned the crowd, and Lily caught her eye, frowning. The girl's eyes darted away, landing on Evan, who was watching Sirius and James pour another glass of wine.

Hermione reached out, squeezing the boy's hand. "Evan?" She asked, and Evan didn't respond, still watching the two Aurors. Lily puzzled over that. But after a few seconds, Evan looked over at Hermione. Lily could see the light escaping from Evan's eyes, and she shivered as the boy inhaled deeply.

"Speaking of phoenixes, we need to get to Hogwarts," Evan said firmly, and Hermione glanced at him, eyes searching his face. Evan raised an eyebrow, and something clicked in Hermione, because she nodded.

"And we need a rooster," She added. Lily had a bad feeling about this. "A real one, too. Not something transfigured." Evan nodded, before his eyes widened.

"And the sword of Gryffindor," He smirked. Lily had a bad feeling about that smirk too, reminding her so much of James. "A cauldron as well and a phoenix, in case we need the tears."

"What're you planning?" Sirius asked the four teenagers, eyes gleaming. Evan smirked.

"Nothing of your concern." He placed his hands in front of him. "Can you get us those things?"

Lily knew they wouldn't win arguing with the teenagers, so she sighed, nodding. "Alright," She agreed, ever so apprehensively. "Why do you need those things from Hogwarts? What do you know that we don't?" Evan took a small sip from his glass, eyes twinkling, making him look dangerously like Dumbledore. She did not like that. They already had a secretive, powerful wizard, they didn't need a second one.

"Quite a lot, Mrs. Potter," Evan chirped, grinning cunningly. His mood had changed rapidly again, and Lily felt her stomach flutter with worry for the boy, as well as annoyance with his tone.

Lily glared. "Why won't you tell us, Evan?" She asked accusingly, and Evan raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about knowing what happened in your world?" She paused, watching as Evan lost any emotion on his face. She must have hit a sore spot. "Was it bad? Were you hurt?"

Evan shrugged. "It was war, nothing to it," He answered, placing his cup down and his hands in front of him. "We're not telling you because one, nothing from our world that we haven't already told you applies to this world, and two, you'll only pity us." Evan straightened. "It no longer hurts us, Mrs. Potter, you have nothing to worry about." He smiled softly, a tender emotion coming onto his face, making him look a lot younger than he usually looked. "Horrible things happened in our world and we want to protect you from that."

Lily was shocked. "We don't want your protection!" She protested loudly, pleadingly. Evan studied her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why not?" He asked, honestly. Lily gaped at him.

"Because-because we're the adults here, not you!" She couldn't believe he was surprised.

"We're hardy children, Lily, we're quite fine on our own." Evan rolled his eyes. But there was a flash, Lily saw it, a flash of pain, hurt, and almost desperation in his eyes. She softened.

"Maybe you're hardly children anymore, Evan, but you're hardly adults, too," She said this firmly, and another flicker of pain crossed Evan's face, before it was wiped clean and he stared at her dully.

"Well, there's nothing much you can do about that, Mrs. Potter, so I say we're done discussing this." Evan stared at Lily evenly, his stubborn streak reminding her of her own. But, for whatever reason, his was stronger, and after a few seconds, she huffed angrily, breaking eye contact first. Like the teenager he was, Evan smirked smugly.

"You should talk about what happened, if not to us, someone," Lily chastised, before glancing at the other three teenagers as well. Neville fidgeted under her gaze, Luna sent her a gleaming smile, and Hermione tilted her head curiously. Lily glanced at Evan, who was frowning, defiance practically oozing off him.

"When do you need to get to Hogwarts?" James asked. "We can get you in, but I don't think you should go until you've healed properly."

Evan smiled. "Sooner the better." He rolled his neck, and shoulders. "I've healed enough." He glanced between the four adults. "You're welcome to join us. We're not hunting Horcruxes yet, so we'll like you along." Lily looked indignant again.

"Like us along?" She crossed her arms. "We're coming along, whether you like it or not, Evan."

Luna tilted her head, watching Lily. "Evan's likes, or dislikes have never been considered by anyone making decisions for him," She informed them, eyes piercing into their souls. "He's an oak now, compared to his previous sapling, and your winds will not uproot him, not ever." She grinned at them, tilting her head as she took Evan's hand. Evan laughed.

"What she said," He chirped, pointing a thumb at the blonde-haired witch. Luna rocked back on her heels, smiling dreamily. "We don't have to reveal anything, you know."

Lily was shocked, the second time that night. "Are you blackmailing us?" She spluttered, and Evan shrugged languidly.

"Does it feel like it?" He asked, smirking as he leaned back in his chair. "That wasn't our intention, but if it works." He grinned, and Lily clenched her jaw.

"We do not need your protection," She gritted out, eyes flashing, and Evan's eyes darted away from her, his hand clenching around his glass.

"We don't want you on the horcrux hunt." Evan's eyes hardened, and Lily suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Not because we doubt your abilities or want to protect you." He leaned back in his chair, eyes flashing as his hands were placed on the table. Lily studied him, her own eyes narrowing. "You're inexperienced. You'll only be in the way." Lily's mouth fell open in shock, and she looked sharply at James and Sirius, who looked equally as offended.

"You really have the gall to say that?" Sirius snapped, one of the rare times he was actually serious. "We're Aurors, boy." Lily felt a spike of curiosity when the teenager flinched at the word 'boy' but she ignored it, her indignation taking over instead. The boy tilted his chin up, an arrogant glint in his eyes.

"Yeah? Well how many times have you fought Voldemort?" He snapped. "Because I've fought against him nine times, and that's not including horcruxes, or his death eaters." He glared at them all. "So, who really has more experience?" Sirius was glaring at the boy, but he remained silent, and Evan bared his teeth into a smug grin. Lily ached for the ability to prove this boy wrong, but she knew he had it over them.

"We want to help you," She said firmly, and Evan scrutinized her for a few seconds, before shrugging.

"Cool," He chirped, leaning back in his chair. "We'll leave two days from now." He nodded towards Hermione and Neville, who voiced no protests, and Evan grinned. "Hope you're ready."


	14. Too Close to the Flame

**I know, I know, it has been a reeeaaallllyyy long time. It was a busy end of the school year, plus work. And a large dose of writer's block. BUT, I got another chapter up. Also, I changed some characters from previous chapters. James and Lily now just have the twins, who I made older. I figured it was fine because I haven't characterized their children a lot yet, and I did not feel like having three children to characterize, and get Harry to bond with. Too much OC's that I didn't want.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 14: Too Close to the Flame_**

'You look invincible,' my mother said one night.

I loved these times, when we seemed to feel the same thing. I turned to her, wrapped in my thin gown, and said:

'I am.'

\- Alice Sebold

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

Harry looked out towards the sea as he stood in the front foyer of the Potter's house. The conversation of his friends was muted to his ears as he ignored them, focusing his attention on the darkness outside.

"Do you really think it was necessary to wake up at 4:30 in the morning, Harry?" Hermione grumbled. Despite her fatigue, her eyes were still sharply glaring at him, even if her hair was more frazzled than normal, though no one dared comment on that. Harry smiled, turning to look at her.

"The early bird gets the worm, Hermione," He stated, looking back outside. Hermione huffed, but remained quiet. Luna giggled.

"The Serpent only sees dark. Night could be day or day could be night, only the Serpent knows for sure, and if her eyes are open, that won't be the best for us," Luna informed them, and Harry nodded.

"That is certainly true. But I'm more concerned about Dumbledore's sleeping habits," He said, grinning. "Personally, I would prefer to keep him mostly in the dark on this." Hermione huffed once more, seeing the logic in his plan, Harry was sure, but unwilling to admit defeat.

"If I keel over in exhaustion, it'll be your fault, Harry," She threatened. Harry grinned, mockingly tipping his hat to her, and Hermione scowled again.

He returned to looking out the window, a mix of emotions roiling through him. On one hand, he wanted to keep his friends safe. All he had left were these three people standing around him, ready to fight a dangerous basilisk, risking their lives for virtual strangers simply because Harry was feeling nostalgic. On the other hand, Harry had a responsibility to this world, and he was used to dying for others. Sure, these people weren't _his_ people, but it still caused a pang in his heart to imagine these strangers as dead, and Harry was determined to save them. If not for them, then for their children, and the rest of the wizarding world. If Harry was anything, he was a martyr.

He turned back around just as the Marauders made it into the foyer. Lily was staying with the kids.

"Good morning," Harry greeted. Remus gave him a weary smile, James didn't even look at him, instead going to the kitchen immediately, and Sirius paused briefly to send him a dirty glare. Harry only grinned back.

"Good morning, Evan," Remus said quietly, and Harry chuckled.

"Don't worry. If the coffee doesn't wake you up completely, the adrenaline rush certainly will," He reassured them, and Sirius groaned, placing his head into his arms as he sat at the table.

"Honestly, Evan, I hardly find that comforting," He grumbled. Harry smiled. Was it bad he found this amusing? Harry didn't bother dwelling on it.

"Cheer up, Sirius, Evan has a lot of experience fighting many kinds of snakes," Luna chirped, patting the older man on the back. Sirius looked up at her, a strange look on his face, before sighing heavily, his head hitting the table with a loud thump.

"Careful Sirius, don't want to lose more brain cells," Harry smirked. "You can't really afford that." Sirius didn't look up at him, flipping him off instead. Harry chuckled.

"Snakes?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, snakes?"

"Certainly, you've seen the resemblance between Voldemort and snakes," Harry laughed, and Remus frowned, eyes darting over to James. Harry figured the older man didn't find the comment as amusing as he did.

"Are we fighting Voldemort today, Evan?" Remus asked cautiously, a warning in his voice.

Harry gave his own look, scoffing lightly. "Of course not, Remus. I'm trying to save you lot, not send you to your deaths." He snickered, rolling his eyes, and Sirius sat up, an affronted look on his face.

"Hey!" He grumbled. "We're perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves." Harry froze for a second, feeling the flashbacks coming in.

 _Sirius getting hit, the bright red, the smile still on his face, before falling slowly back into the veil, falling, always falling, and Harry never getting there in time, too slow, too weak, too dumb_ -

Harry swallowed convulsively, shaking slightly. He clenched his hands into fists as he closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing. And finally, finally he forced the flashback away, and his face smoothed over into a cocky smirk.

"Oh, I'm sure you are, Sirius." He winked, patting the man on his shoulder. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Are we ready to go, Evan?" The animagus asked dryly. Harry grinned.

"As ready as we'll ever be."

* * *

"What are we doing at Hogwarts, Evan?" James asked calmly, and Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation, turning to face the older Potter.

"Getting some things." Harry replied ambiguously, dread creeping in his bones. Hermione glanced at him discreetly and he nodded his head ever so slightly to let her know he saw her look. She cleared her throat.

"We need some things to help with the horcrux hunt," Hermione addressed the older wizards, glancing at Harry again, hesitating. He held her gaze, smiling slightly, so she jutted out her chin, her back straightening in a self-assured way. "Only we know where those things are, and how to get them. And Evan is the only one who can get us there." She sent them all challenging glares. "If you object to our methods, you do not have to join."

James frowned. "Methods?" He glanced at every teenager, and Harry fought the urge to look away when James' eyes landed on him. He didn't, though, simply held his chin up higher, a determined gleam to his eye.

"We simply ask you keep an open mind," Harry explained, however cryptically. "We ask you to remember that a wizard's actions determine their character far more than forces out of their control." He glared at them all challengingly. None of them flinched or gave anything to hint at what they were thinking. He nodded approvingly.

Hermione cleared her throat, passing her bag with an extension charm on it over to Harry. He grinned, before reaching in, going up to his elbow, and pulled out the sword of Gryffindor. The one from their world, though Harry hoped to get access to this world's sword as well. He gripped the hilt, enjoying the feeling of the sword's weight in his hand, and watched the three marauders for their reactions. They remained stoic, hiding whatever disapproval they may have. Only Remus raised an eyebrow questionably, more out of curiosity than condemnation.

"We couldn't get a rooster," Hermione said, as a way of explaining. Harry smiled.

"Good, now let's get moving," Harry said cheerily, skipping in front. He heard an exasperated sigh behind him, but he ignored it. Luna appeared beside him.

"Your loyalty to Dumbledore is weakening," She stated, and Harry glanced at her quickly, grunting noncommittedly. She turned her piercing gaze on him. "Make sure you fix that, or there'll be no tears this time."

Harry was silent, before glancing back down at her. He sighed. "Luna, after everything, I'm finding it kind of hard to trust him," Harry admitted, and Luna smiled beatifically.

"You can be loyal without trust." She was surprisingly explicit this time, and Harry didn't have to guess at her meaning. He was reluctant to admit she was right, though.

"Remus, Sirius, and James are loyal, and you and Neville are still loyal a bit," He pointed out. "I'm sure that will compensate for my lack of loyalty." Luna tilted her head.

"You're putting on your mask again for this world." Luna squeezed his hand. "You wouldn't do that for just anyone." Harry sighed, running a hand down his face.

"I don't actually hate the old coot," He grumbled reluctantly. "I kind of see where he was coming from now." Another flash of apprehension rose, and a surge of intense protectiveness, for his three friends. But an even stronger sense of responsibility filled his body, and just as much guilt. Harry fought his emotions, trying to regain control, exhaling sharply. "I want to save everyone, but I can't do that as I save the world." He smiled bitterly.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Luna asked wispily, and Harry sighed heavily. They finally made it to the second-floor girls' lavatory. Harry was just glad that it was Christmas break for Hogwarts. The marauders had said that when the war got more intense, Hogwarts nearly closed, forced by the government to as it was considered a rebel school by the death eaters hiding in the ministry. To appease them, Dumbledore found middle ground, and the school would close for breaks, no students were allowed at school. However depressing that was, Harry was also happy that there weren't students around when they opened the Chamber.

"Are we actually going into the girls' bathroom?" Sirius deadpanned, glaring at Harry. He grinned, turning to face is pseudo-godfather.

"Don't question it, Sirius!" He chirped, walking in. They were immediately greeted by Myrtle.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously. Harry smiled.

"Hello, Myrtle," He said kindly, tilting his head slightly. "We've just come to visit." Her expression changed from suspicion to curiosity. Harry put on an empathetic expression. "I'm very sorry, you must be lonely here."

She nodded gravely, biting her lip, as if about to cry. "I am," She whined. "After what happened, I don't like being in here, but I can't even leave." And then she did start to cry, or at least whatever ghosts did when they were sad. Harry waited until she paused to take a breath.

"I know what happened, Myrtle," He told her sincerely, smiling up at her when she paused to listen. "And my friends and I are here to find the thing that killed you."

Myrtle's eyes widened. "Really? For me?" She asked in awe, and Harry hesitated, before nodding slowly, his smile brilliant. She burst into tears again. "Oh, you're so noble!" She fluttered her eyelashes. "If you die, you can share my toilet." Harry winced from the deja vu.

"Thank you, Myrtle," He said sweetly. "This might be scary for you, Myrtle, so you might want to leave. I will find you when we're done." Myrtle, still choked up with tears, nodded. Once she was gone, Harry sighed heavily. "Oh, thank god. I always found it weird flirting with a ghost." Sirius chuckled.

"Interesting method," He quipped, and Harry sent him a smirk.

"Ha, ha," Harry sneered, before walking towards the sink, the serpent on the tap flashing in the light. He steeled his nerves and opened his mouth. Harry ignored the gasp behind him when the others heard him speaking parsletongue, fighting the urge to look behind him to see their reactions.

But before he could really question it, the floor started to move, and a giant hole down into the ground to the Chamber opened.

"Holy shit," Sirius said, and Harry laughed, turning to look at the animagus.

"This is Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets," Harry told them, and Sirius full out gaped, Remus raised an eyebrow, and James laughed, nodding in amazement. "And there's a basilisk that lives down there." That wiped any sort of amazement off their faces, replacing it with apprehension, and some fear. Harry winced. "You don't have to come if you don't want to." He looked at them, hoping that they'd agree, and turn back, but the marauders didn't flinch. Harry only felt his guilt deepen, and his anxiety rise. Hermione walked over then, her hand taking his gently. He felt his breathing even out, smiling at her gratefully. "Here are some mirrors. That way, there's only a risk of petrification, and not death." Harry went over to the marauders, handing them out.

James took his, looking at the two of them suspiciously. "Evan, how old were you, when you learned about this?" James asked calmly. Harry winced, eyeing James guiltily.

"During our second year. A death eater had slipped Ginny Weasley a horcrux, and Tom Riddle used her to open the chamber." Harry fought down the grief from slipping in with pure willpower. Fists clenched, he closed his eyes, already feeling the flashbacks and memories of her pop into his mind.

 _Ginny, lying on the ground, her beautiful red hair fanned out in the water as Tom Riddle stood over her. But no, it wasn't Tom Riddle, it was Lucius Malfoy, and her red hair was now redder with blood. And she was in Harry's arms because she didn't wake up this time, she didn't open her eyes. And her body was too cold, her eyes too glassy, her life too short, and he was crying, he was crying so hard, and he couldn't stop, he couldn't breathe, and all he wanted was her, all he wanted was her to wake up, but she wouldn't, she wouldn't because of him. It was all his fault, and she was dead, because it was all his fault, and he couldn't_ -

And then he felt Hermione's hand in his, squeezing tightly, and he opened his eyes, slowly regaining some control. His grip on Hermione's hand was tight, and he fought back the sobs, forcing himself to breathe normally, forcing the flashbacks and emotions away with a strength of pure steel.

This lapse of control did not escape the marauder's notice, Harry realized, and he winced.

James swallowed thickly. "Evan, I'm sorry for bringing it up," He said cautiously, and Harry met his eyes, seeing a deep empathetic understanding in them that almost made Harry fall over from loss right then and there. But he fought down the grief, and simply smiled instead.

"Thank you, James," He whispered. And then he quickly regained composure fully, smoothing out his features, and pushing his emotions away. "Our second year, there were multiple petrifications because of the basilisk." Harry sent a quick glance at Hermione, but she wasn't looking at him, instead looking down into the Chamber, her jaw set.

"That's why you needed a rooster," Remus said in realization, and Harry nodded. James groaned.

"And we didn't manage to get you one," He said drearily, and Harry nodded again, his own annoyance flaring up. A rooster would have been so much easier, he sighed.

Sirius was still staring down into the Chamber. "Well, that's one place we never got onto the Map," He whistled, and Harry, surprised by the innocent comment, barely paid attention before opening his mouth.

"Two actually," He corrected. Sirius looked up in confusion.

"What?"

"There's another room you guys didn't discover, the Room-" Harry broke off, eyes widening. "Holy shit. That's it!" He turned to Hermione. "We can get a rooster from there!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh my god, you're right!" She grinned, before it turned back into a frown. "Can it produce living things?" Harry shrugged.

"Maybe," Harry contemplated. Neville shook his head.

"No, it couldn't, that's one of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law," Neville sighed, and Harry cursed. "Maybe Hagrid has roosters?"

James shook his head. "We've checked. That's why we couldn't get you one," He admitted, and Harry sighed. "Can I ask, what is this room you're talking about?"

"We'll show you later," Harry promised, his attention turned back to the Chamber. "Right now, there's a basilisk down there that may or may not be awake already." He glanced at Hermione as a flash of fear, for his friends, for the marauders, gripped his heart, and he felt the panic rising. But Hermione, her eyes piercing with determination, simply sent him an encouraging smile, and Harry inhaled deeply. He turned to face his friends, and the marauders. "Remember: don't look directly at the basilisk, use your mirror, and don't make a sound."

With that, he smiled, saluted the others, and jumped down into the Chamber.

* * *

 **James' POV**

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He turned to look at the other three dimension travellers in alarm, but they didn't seem fazed that their leader had just leaped down into the dark, imposing Chamber with a killer basilisk on the loose.

"Um," Sirius gawped. "Are we going to have to do that?" Luna nodded vigorously.

"Spread your wings, Sirius, and take a leap of faith," She sang, and leapt into the Chamber.

Hermione rolled her eyes at James and his friends. "Honestly, we're wizards," She drawled. "Just use a cushioning charm at the end." Shrugging her shoulders, she stepped off the edge and dropped. James glanced worriedly over at a slightly pale Remus, and a still gaping Sirius.

"You guys better hurry," Neville warned, standing at the edge of the Chamber. "Evan's going to get impatient and leave without you lot." He grinned at them. "That's if you still want to come! Better decide fast!" He called back over his shoulder as he jumped off the ledge.

"Are we crazy? We're crazy, right?" Remus deadpanned, looking at his friends. James felt a flutter of anxiety and couldn't help but agree. He had a family! He couldn't go leaping off ledges.

James scowled. "Fucking hope Evan knows what he's doing, I cannot afford to die right now," He grumbled as he made his way to the edge. Remus sent him a pointed look.

"You don't have to do this, you have Calla and Ren to think about," He said smoothly, and James sent him an inquiring look. "Evan would understand if you can't risk it." James froze with the sudden realization that the four dimension travellers were right. Fuck, they were right. Deep down, he knew, he always knew, that if he had to, he'd choose saving his own family over saving the world any day.

And with that realization came the guilt and the shame; for being like the people from the other world, people who put the four teenagers on a pedestal and sat on their asses, waiting for the children to save the world.

And he'd be damned if he let himself be like those people.

"No," James clenched his jaw. "No, I have to help them." Remus relaxed, studying James, and they made eye contact. Remus smiled gently at him.

"I know," He said softly. "But it's okay to want to save your family too." James was silent, making eye contact with Remus one more time, before jumping into the Chamber.

It was a horrible feeling, and James fought down the screams of fear only because he knew that'd only attract the attention of the basilisk, and a giant snake was _far_ scarier than falling.

He stood up after cushioning his fall, brushing off his clothes before looking around.

"Holy shit," He whispered. "This is-this-" He took a step, and something crunched beneath his feet. Startled, he looked down to realize he was standing on _bones_. "Merlin's fucking balls. Those are _bones!_ " He looked up in alarm and met the regretful eyes of the four dimension travellers.

"Yeah, it's not very pleasant down here," Evan said quietly, looking away with some emotion on his face. James paused, studying the boy carefully.

James reached out to the boy, not knowing what he wanted to do. "Evan-"

"Are Sirius and Remus going to come down any time soon?" He chuckled in amusement, ignoring James as he stepped away. James fought down the feelings of rejection.

"They should be down soon," James responded wispily, and just as he said it, Remus arrived. James raised an eyebrow, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Sirius is being a chicken," He explained, and James inclined his head.

"Ah." He looked back up. And then Sirius finally jumped down. Sirius gave a startled scream, and James shook his head, making eye contact with Evan. The two men shared a brief chuckle, and then Sirius was landing, a disgruntled look on his face.

"Was Slytherin too cool for fucking stairs?" The animagus grumbled, and James smirked, throwing an arm around the other man.

"We're proud of you, Padfoot," James teased, squeezing Sirius. "Faced your fears, even if you took a while."

Sirius rolled his eyes, flipping the other man off. "Sod off, James, you freaked out a bit too."

James frowned, clenching his jaw. "Understandably so," He gritted out, glaring at Sirius. The other man realized quickly what happened and ducked his head apologetically.

"Yeah, of course," He soothed, and James rolled his eyes, turning to Evan instead.

"Alright, ready to go," He said firmly, and Evan nodded, turning to face the group again.

"Just remember, be quiet and use your mirrors." And with that, Evan cast muffling charms on everyone, and then lead the way. James felt his muscles quiver with nerves, but straightened up with determination, and followed.

* * *

 **Again, just a reminder, check out my previous chapters! I changed some things because I removed some characters, specifically Lily and James' OC children. Thanks!**


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